Being the Hero
by Era Yachi
Summary: In the long wake of victory, Megamind begins to feel the strain of acting as the 'good guy'. Same problem, different enemies. Being the super-villain is easy. Being the hero is melan-colly.
1. Metrocity Madness

_**Being the Hero**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Summary**: In the wake of victory, Megamind feels the long-term strain of being the good guy. He never expected to battle with old enemies against old friends. Being the villain is easy. Being the hero is melan-colly.

**AN: **This is the result of a movie night of awesomeness and a brain filled with the urge to escape long work hours. Post Megamind movie, obviously. I really liked this film—it didn't touch the same stars as other animated films, but the heart and characters just amazed me.

Please note the genre; this is not a romance, but it will include said sub-genre. And quite a lot of humour. And pain, anguish, drama. Suspense. A tad of mystery. Two tablespoons of supernatural and science fiction. Honestly, if there's a genre not involved, please point it out so I can PostIt note it somewhere on my desktop and probably forget about and end up omitting anyway.

* * *

_Chapter One: Metrocity Melancholy_

Megamind inhaled deeply and spread out his arms to the open sky. "Minion! Smell that freedom! _Feel_ it coursing through your veins!"

As usual, his fish-mechanized-turned-lab-monster loyal henchman was standing just behind the blue mastermind, whilst Megamind looked over the city from the deck of the newly rebuilt observatory. "Uhhh, sir, I don't breathe air. And I'm partially confident that my veins are freedom-free. In fact, do I even have veins?"

"Don't be selfish, Minion," his best friend snapped, waving a gloved hand as he leaned over the metal railing and smiled wickedly at the sunset. "How could you be so focused on yourself when there's a whole city of...of..." He threw his hand out towards the buildings and the people at the base of the hill and faltered. "...people out there, who need me to...to..."

"Save them?" Minion suggested tentatively.

"Exactly!" Megamind balled a fist in front of him. "Right now, I'm certain there's _someone_, _anyone_ who needs the composing resserence of their hero and his legion of brain-bots, just _waiting_..."

An awkwardly silent moment passed, in which the sun descended by another few millimeters across the horizon. "Anyone!" shouted Megamind a little frantically.

In the blissful tranquility the followed, a very small blue bird came fluttering over to Megamind, chirping happily, and landed on one of his shoulder spikes.

"Aaaaah!" He sprung back and pressed his back against Minion. Minion made a shooing gesture with half-lidded eyes, and the bird flitted away again. Megamind quickly regained his composure. "This world is filled with some of the most terrifying things, Minion. I don't understand—where are all the evil challengers? I mean, this is...it's so...so..."

"Boring?"

"Perfect!" exclaimed the blue genius. "It's like being trapped in my prison cell for eternity, only it's bigger, and cleaner and smells like freedom instead of questionably eradicated traces of human body fluids." He heaved a sigh. "Oh, what's the point, Minion? Evil or good, bad or _really_ bad, there's nothing left for me here in Metrocity. They don't need a hero. They needed Metroman when I was in my brilliant hero-thwarting prime, but now? What am I, but a handsome face on a two hundred foot tall statue and a giant brain slowly going to galactic waste?" Groaning, he slumped over on the smooth, white railing of the balcony.

"Sir, there's plenty here for you in Metro City. It's only been two months since you defeated Titan," Minion tried to console him, tapping through the portable schedule disk in his hands. "Odds are, someone will follow in your footsteps—your baby seal leather ones—eventually. And are we forgetting to mention _Roxanne_?" he added suggestively.

"Ah, yes. Roxanne." Megamind sighed again, but this time with contentment. "Your depressing monologue almost made me forget that today's our two-month anniversary. Do you really think she'll like my surprise?"

"Well," Minion replied in the way that suggested he didn't want to hurt his master's tender feelings. "It's hard to say at this point. It could go either way?"

"I had this entire observatory rebuilt just to show her what she means to me," Megamind went on, standing up straight once more. He turned around curtly and strolled into the dome where he had everything set up exactly the way it had been two months and some weeks ago. Not in _this_ observatory exactly, but he had to contribute back to society somehow, didn't he? "Exactly how much time do we have before they get here?"

Minion checked his watch. "Actually, they should be here any second. Should I, uh...you know...go run some errands?"

Megamind gave him a cold glare.

"On second thought, I'll just stick around in case you need me. You know, until you realize how awkward it will be with me here," the fish replied sarcastically, then lit up as he checked his disc module. "They're arrived, sir."

Just as he said, the arrival of Megamind's swarm of brain-bots was preceded by their telltale buzzing-chomping sounds and in through the gap in the dome they flew. In their carefully padded claws was a tied and bound woman in a blue dress, brown bag covering her head and shoes long gone missing. They put her down on the metal chair in the center of the room.

Megamind, now sitting in the swiveling chair across from her, grinned as Minion grabbed the sac and pulled it off their captive's head. The mastermind himself turned around slowly, fingers laced together in front of him. "Olo, Roxanne."

"You _still_ haven't washed the bag!" she snapped at him, then, blinking her eyes, looked around the observatory. "Oh, no. Don't tell me..."

"Surprised to see me, are you?" said Megamind, smirking. "I see you're still dressed for work—I hope I didn't frighten you with my deceiving and versateel tactics."

"It's versatile, and no, you're still completely predictable, Megamind, no matter how much you've changed," Roxanne replied lowly, before returning the wry smile.

"Don't be so quick to judge!" The blue genius leaped to his feet and put his hand on a lever behind him and pulled it. "You think you're so clever, Roxanne Ritchie, but you _never_ could have predicted _this_!"

Roxanne opened her mouth to retort, but as the floor around her chair retracted this time, her field of vision was suddenly flooded with a curtain of fluttering, colourful wings. She let out a small laugh as the curtain rose all round her towards the ceiling. "Ah, butterflies? Really."

"Oh, but the terror is just beginning!" He put down another switch, and a series of metal claws sprang out from a pedestal in the floor. Brightly coloured flowers were packed tightly in the grips instead of weapons. "And this! This one's the worst of all!"

Stuffed animals, some sparkly confetti and finally, a small white kitten dropped out of the various place and into her lap. The frightened (and frankly, quite adorable) little feline mewled before springing off the chair and diving for cover behind some of the machines. Roxanne put on a wide smile, her eyes almost sparkling at him as Megamind smugly strode towards her. The retracting floor closed with a few mechanical clicks and Miss Ritchie pulled her arms out from behind her back, since they had never been truly bound in the first place. She stood up and put her arms around him when he was near enough.

"Very clever," she said, before exchanging with him a quick kiss. "So how many butterflies did your brain-bots kill before you managed to pull this off?"

"Just one," he promised, holding up a slender finger. "But it was really more of a moth, so technically...zero."

"Uh, huh. And what about you—are you okay today?"

Megamind frowned slightly and pulled away, his green eyes averting for a brief second. "Okay? Why wouldn't I be okay today, or any other day? I mean, every day is just really, the same day, and...I'm not getting anywhere, am I?" he asked dubiously.

She shook her head.

"If you two don't mind, I'm going to...go pretend to fix the dehydration ray in the car," Minion interjected softly, tip-toeing away from the couple and towards the staircase. Locked under her eyes, Megamind couldn't object to anything without losing his battle of wills with Roxanne.

"I know it's hard being a hero in a city with no super villains," she told him, in a way that was a tad bit too patronizing for Megamind—though he didn't say. "Don't worry, I'm not going to lecture you after you went through all this trouble. Even though dinner and a movie would have worked just fine."

"Temptress," he said with a smile, and turned with her to face the balcony outside. When they reached the railing, Roxanne hooked an arm around his and rest her head against his shoulder.

"Do you want to know a secret?" she asked, sighing. "I love this. I mean, I do love a good kidnapping and life-threatening confrontations between good and evil as much as the last reporter, but Metro City is safe. Asking for anything more seems a little selfish, don't you think?"

"I wish I knew what I thought. If I could take you with me, I'd give up everything I have now just to go back in time to before...before Metroman's not-so-demise, before Titan and that silly obsession of mine to rule Metrocity."

"Back to when you were evil, you mean?"

"Ah, that's just it, my dearest Roxanne," he said, glancing over at her with a loving smirk. "I wouldn't go without you, and with you...there is no evil. I only wish life could be exciting _and_ good at the same time."

Her large blue eyes traveled to his and she unconsciously held on to him tighter. "Who says it can't be? There's...there's more to life than battling your nemesis, Megamind. Most people get by just fighting their insurance companies and common colds."

Megamind looked on sadly over the cityscape, as though hearing but not comprehending. Roxanne knew it would take much, much more time to get through to him on a 'normal' level. Unlike Metroman, he was still living in the past, clinging to a way of living that he could never return to. She wholeheartedly believed that he had no interest in being the super villain of ages past, but given enough free rein without a strong guiding hand, he just might end up doing something stupid, like creating another Titan to relive his glory days.

Glory days. It almost sounded as though he was being forced into retirement. Until recently, she never thought seriously about what Metro City would be like without Megamind—if only Metroman were left, with no one to fight back against other than petty criminals. The tables were turned now. There were only heroes left, and after Megamind proved just how capable he was against not only _one_ invincible enemy, but two...what criminal would even think about showing his face anywhere but the darkest corners of the city?

"There's always tomorrow," she said, breaking the silence and dark orange glow of the setting sun. "Think of all the kinds at the museum who want to meet Metro City's most endearing super genius, all the lives you'll be inspiring-"

She stopped in mid-sentence, as several dozen blocks away into the heart of downtown Metro City, an orange fireball erupted from the roof of a medium-sized building. From this distance, the magnitude of the explosion was obviously not befitting a 'normal' emergency. A few seconds of stunned silence later, in which Megamind and Roxanne looked out with slightly agape mouths. "What was that?" Roxanne asked a moment later, cautiously.

"Brain-bots!" Megamind's single command went without elaboration—his small swarm of flying mechanical henchmen swirled into the open near-dusk air toward the source of mayhem. "Daddy will be right behind you!" he called.

"Megamind!" Roxanne reached out to grab his arm before he could take off, furling her brow. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

His face froze up with unveiled hesitation and confusion. "Yeeeee...nnn...nnn-yes?" he finally decided on, trying to read her face in order to gauge her reaction.

Roxanne stepped forward and kissed him, for longer than she had before to ensure he got the message. Enjoying just how much she could wrap him around her finger with that simple little gesture, she pulled back smiling. "Reporter. Remember? If it's not too much trouble, I'd like a ride to the scene of the action so I can _also_ do my job?"

"Oh." Then he grinned, and she let out surprised cry when he swooped over and scooped her up in his arms.

"Ahh! N-Not _now_!" she laughed, swinging her legs and grappling him around the neck as they raced together down the long staircase towards the bottom. "Slow down! You'll fall over and cripple us both!"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand your strange and barbaric 'captive language'," he mocked as the door to the observatory flew open. "La la la la, not listening! What's that? Nope, still unable to translate that last part—something about my soft, sweet tenor of a voice and unrivaled good looks?"

This was the last few moments either one of the freshly united pair would experience without the foreshadowing uncertainty that awaited. Roxanne remembered this almost painfully. She had no idea at the time, just how dangerous Metro City was for a super villain who had defected to the right side. And she had no idea just how much evil was lurking behind the facade of peacetime. Real evil.

If only she'd known.


	2. Explosive Enigma

_**Being the Hero**_

_**

* * *

**_

AN: I think the point of Megamind is to blend the cheesiness with the sci-fi and drama. The fluff in the first chapter is just to reel in the hopeless shippers so I can trounce their dreams with horror and affliction. Then I'll go back and be fluffy again, so when you're all breathing a sigh of relief, I can—holy mother of holy it's a fish!

I mean, did I just type that out loud? Genres, people. Genres. We all live in a yellow submarine.

* * *

_Chapter Two: Smiley Surprise_

_ "What_...is going on?" Megamind asked in disbelief as the lights of downtown Metro City washed down from above. Minion followed close behind along with Roxanne, who paused once in a while to speak to various members of the news team already present at the scene. "I mean I _just_ finished fixing up this part of the city! Can't you people keep it clean for five minutes while I'm gone?"

The thickening crowd parted to let him through_. _Burning debris and flashing emergency vehicles lined the streets, looking rather ominous in the recent overshadowing of dusk. Thanks to Roxanne's presence, no one had a mind to stick a microphone in his face, but the expressions of the worried citizens were all asking the freshly turned hero the same question: what was he going to do now?

Police officers moved aside as Megamind and his faithful companion approached, surrounded as they were by clouds of dust and murmuring voices. Just then, Roxanne caught up with them and put a hand on Megamind's shoulder. "Megamind, I've been hearing a lot of weird reports, but many people witnessed a man in a yellow mask fly awa—"

Her words were stolen away when she saw what everyone else was staring at. On the ground, in a near circular pit torn from the pavement, was a gathering of burning rocks. Two larger chunks of concrete burned on one side, and on the other, an almost complete semi-circle of smaller fireballs. "Is...is that a..."

Smiley face. Someone had blow the roof off of a skyscraper and used the wreckage to built a sideways typist's version of the most commonly used expression in the world of technology—a smiley face. A baby cried in the background as Megamind stepped onto the nearest pile of rubble jutting out of the street.

"Wait! Be...be careful," Miss Ritchie told him sternly, staying behind. Minion remained with her as the blue mastermind entered the scorched canvas, which was barren of anyone else but he.

As he passed between the two largest boulders, Megamind pulled out his dehydration ray and held it close. His eyes scanned the area and he slunk around the symbolic burning rocks. Darkness had fallen over the city, and only the lights from the signs, vehicles and flames themselves gave him room to see by. Inching closer, he reached out with a sharp-toed boot and nudged one of the smoldering stones before leaping back and swiftly pointing his gun at it. Nothing moved or made a sound. He began to relax, albeit by a fraction of an inch.

Something plummeted to the ground from the sky, striking just behind him with a metallic 'thunk'. "Gaaah!" Megamind whirled on it and put it in his sights, but arched an eyebrow slowly when he realized what it was—a round, yellow ball that rolled towards him and settled face-up. Two black eyes and a broad, painted smile looked at him from the soot and ash. Curiosity got the better of him, overruling his genius' sense of security and the mastermind bent down to pick up the strange, happy object and turned it around in his hands.

The words 'Have a Nice Day' were painted on the back. Odd. Who would want to go through all this trouble just to be nice to someone? His frown deepened on his face as he contemplated this, a thought process that ended abruptly when the bright object began to blink a red light and make a disharmonious beeping sound.

"Ohhhh," he said, finally understanding. "A smiley face explosive. That's..._ingenious._ How come I never thought of—uh, oh."

The yellow bomb started to blink faster. Wide-eyed and terrified, he threw out and arm towards the crowd that was closing in, "Everybody, get back!"

From Roxanne's vantage point, she saw Megamind pick up the bizarre-looking ball and felt the world drop out from under her feet as she put together the equation before he could. No sooner had he called out and she opened her mouth to shout at him, then a blinding flash and a shockwave pushed her back, down several feet and into the loose gravel.

She came up coughing and gagging, aware of nothing but the ringing in her head. Minion got up beside her—she balanced herself by grabbing one of his fur-lined arms and blinked at the black cloud that remained in the center of the rubble, where Megamind had been just moments before.

"No," she breathed in disbelief. Rendered speechless, she couldn't even whisper his name.

Minion pointed up at something with a large mechanical hand. "Look!" he cried happily. Dozens of pairs of eyes looked toward the sky, and saw the caped figured descending down to them whilst he waved smoke out of his face and gasped.

Roxanne's knees collapsed with relief as Megamind touched down, the rockets attached to the underside of his boots and wrist cuffs crackling and sputtering out. Black soot streaked his face and created a lopsided halo on his prominent head, which she might have laughed at under normal circumstances. He stumbled towards his henchman and the reporter with a shell shocked expression on his face. Minion caught him before he could careen to the ground.

"Code, I was right about the rocket boots," came Megamind's muffled voice, as his face was pointing downwards at the ground. Half a dozen brain-bots floated around them, awaiting orders the seemed to predict were coming next. "Search for the idiot in the yellow mask!" Megamind commanded, snapping his head up and looking at them fiercely. They took off like bats from a PG-rated version of hell.

Climbing to her feet, Roxanne leapt at them and grabbed Megamind's face in both hands. "Don't you _ever_ do that again!"

Cheeks somewhat pinched under her titanic grip, the smoldering ex-villain looked down at her with tea-cup shaped green eyes. "It's more of an involuntary set of circumstances, but I see your point," he said with his limited lip movement, and brushed himself off defiantly when she released him.

She sighed. "Never mind what just happened. Everyone's okay. Just _what_ was that thing that went off?"

"An extreme case of one-sided banter," Megamind replied with a grimace. "The likes of which I'll return in kind, just as soon as I get my titanium reinforced claws around the neck of the jokester who _dared_—" He must have realized how horrifyingly evil he looked in that moment, what with the exaggerated imitation of his act of strangling the perpetrator in front of his audience. He stopped and tried to cover with an innocent smile before finishing, "—befoul the purity of justice and so and so on."

"A nice save, sir," Minion pitched in.

"Thank you, Megamind! On behalf of the entire city, you have my deepest gratitude for diffusing the bomb!"

The strong, powerful voice came from behind them, where the multitude of vehicles were parked alongside their shaken owners. All three of them turned to witness the new Mayor of Metro City stride towards them, surrounded on all sides by bodyguards, reporters and a few hard-faced police officers who didn't appear too happy to have their perimeter unblocked by a politician. The Mayor, a square-jawed, slender man in his thirties with impeccable hair, looked like a moving statue as he approached them.

"Just one more selfless act by the late evil madman known as Megamind, and the latest deed of justice by Metro City's newest hero!" proclaimed the well-dressed politician, throwing his arm around Megamind's shoulders, whilst avoiding the remaining spikes of course. The press furiously snapped their photos of the newly elected official and the skewed face of the 'late evil madman'. Megamind tried to unsuccessfully shield his face from the flashes and the eruption of babbling voices.

"Easy, easy, my friends," Mayor Carson said, making pushing motions at the wall of spectators. "Don't overwhelm the...man with your questions and praises. Everyone knows that Channel Eight News," he said, and glanced over at Roxanne before clearing his throat, "Has exclusive rights to the media presentation of Megaman's exploits."

Megamind, who was flushing with repressed anger to the point where his face was two shades darker, had just silently signaled a straggler brain-bot to attack behind the mayor's back. Luckily, Minion lunged and grabbed the chomping killing machine before it could pounce with its razor teeth. "It's, uh, Megamind actually," he said with a slight chuckle, wrestling to hold on to the flying monster. "I'm sure we can all be..._adults_," he grunted, as the brain-bot jerked him to one side and gnashed its jaws in open air. He squeaked, "Roxanne, help me."

She was, however, surrounded by crew members from her own news station, having been torn away from their side whilst Mayor Carson usurped their attention. People were straightening her dress, fixing her hair and shoving a microphone in her hand before she could think three times about what was happening. But the mayor himself had just said Channel Eight claimed exclusive rights, which was pretty much ensuring a bomb in ratings if they didn't follow through.

With the media distracted by the attending politician, Megamind was left to watch the debut of Roxanne's report, and the brain-bot he had been utilizing buzzed away behind their heads, now forgotten.

"This is Roxanne Ritchie, reporting for Channel Eight, Metro City News. I'm standing here at the scene of what appears to be the work of yet _another_ criminal mastermind. Reports are suggesting, speculatively, that a flying masked man only known as 'Smiley' has struck a blow here in the heart of our beloved city. People everywhere have been asking the same question since the first explosion took place—where there is good, will evil also rise? We promise more information on this shocking turn of events, right after this."

"Aaaaand we're off," said her new camera man, giving her a quick thumbs up as the crew broke into a series of more preparations.

Roxanne quickly passed the microphone away and went over to Megamind. He gave her an appraising look. "Look, you almost got blown up by some bomb nut in a mask on _our_ two month anniversary," she said, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. "Do you think you could show a little restraint and say, I don't know, _not_ murder anyone on national television?"

"If it means that much to you, yes," he replied shortly, with perhaps a little _too_ much honestly. She covered her face with her hand and sighed.

"Baby steps, Miss Ritchie," Minion whispered to her, before giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Liiiittle bitty baby steps; that's alllll he needs."

From a certain distance, the one self-proclaimed 'Smiley' smiled inwardly behind his smiling mask. "Baby steps," he repeated softly, watching Megamind's complete disregard for personal safety whilst in the presence of the woman. "That's all I need to put you out of your misery, Megamind. Little. Bitty. Baby steps."


	3. Gratuitous Gloating

_**Being the Hero**_

_**

* * *

**_AN: I work twelve hours a day for 5 days a week. As a result, I may either A) be uploading pretty much every day with a 1700-2000 word chapter, or B) updating every 2-3 days with a larger, 3000-3500 word chapter. I won't even put it to a vote, because, well...you don't get to choose. This isn't a democracy. You're gonna get an update every day and you'll like it.

Something else to note—I might change the rating to T soon, so if there are any...I don't know, 5 year olds reading this, please be advised.

Boy, I dislike long author's notes. You're not even reading this—you're skimming through it. Now you're nodding and smiling. Now you're pissed. Now you're moving on to read the chapter to escape me.

I see how it is.

* * *

_Chapter Three: Gratuitous Gloating_

One of the worst ideas Roxanne Ritchie would ever admit to having was accidentally inviting the mayor to Megamind's lair. It slipped out before she could catch herself, and suddenly her entire news station was trailing her and Mayor Carson to the literal doorstep of 'the new hero of Metro City', a title she was quickly getting tired of hearing, especially from a man as pompous and arrogant as one Harold Carson, fresh from the gate of politics, replacement honcho of the slimebag committee. She swore, she didn't understand why his head wasn't twice the size of Megamind's, what with the size of the ego crushed into his cranium.

Megamind had redressed his old lair, now that he didn't have to hide it. The abandoned building was now a small fortress with dreary gray walls, black pillars and a tinted dome at the top where the fake observatory had once been. She'd never been inside that dome, and in fact, couldn't fathom why he needed it. Lesson one when dealing with the man she'd fallen in love with: leave his big toys alone, particularly if they were 'top secret commando', or whatever that meant.

Evil supergenius, benevolent hero—complete child. Ladies and gentlemen: Megamind.

"If you'll come right this way, Mr. Mayor," she said, taking her thoughts to the problem at present. Outside the limo at least, she was free of that horrible cologne and his garrish small talk.

With half a legion of news vans trailing behind them, she had to think back to how this disaster started. It was follow-up time after the Smiley villain incident, long after Megamind had gone back to his designs and many, many hours into overtime. Try as she might—as _anyone_ might—Carson either wouldn't take a hint, or flat out refused to take a hike. There was something unnerving about how invasive he was being. Like he was addicted to being on television. Gee, she didn't know anyone else like that.

Then, at the end of her wits by the time he began to make vague accusations about the fraction of the city's budget that had gone towards Megamind's abode, she'd done the deed by saying, "Look, with all due respect, Mayor Carson, if you had any idea what went on in that lair, you'd realize that taxpayers have _nothing_ to worry about."

Thirty-five minutes later, he was standing next to her at the 'secret entrance' to Megamind's lair, fully convinced he had privileged VIP access to the private, mechanically twisted estate of her questionably sane boyfriend.

Now things would get interesting.

"Miss Ritchie, if you don't mind before we continue, I have one or two questions I've been meaning to ask," Mayor Carson said, smiling in a way he probably thought was charming. "I mean, off the record, of course. Being one of Megabrain's 'closest' friends, how certain are you that this new Smiley character isn't just another one of his evil creations?"

Oh, yes. He was something special. Roxanne crossed her arms. "On _or_ off the record, Mr. Mayor, I _don't_ speculate about Mega_mind_'s methods on saving _your _city. And if you even _think_ I can be manipulated by your roundabout way of insulting my relationship with Megamind, you're talking to the wrong reporter."

Without saying so much more, she turned away from him and stepped through the solid black wall and emerged on the other side of the hologram, coming face-to-face with an increasingly familiar room filled with junk. The warbling sound of the holographic generator came from over her shoulder as Mayor Carson followed her into the gloomy workshop.

"Here it is," she said, gesturing at the vastly unchanged arrangement of tools and metal. "The lair. Before you start attacking the interior decorating, this depressing foyer is only a fraction of his creations. And no, I have no idea what any of them do."

"Is that..." The square-shouldered politician strolled casually into the hangar, as though he owned every inch of it. He tilted his ear into the air. "Is that Bon Jovi?"

Yes, it was, in fact. Somewhere in the guts of the lair, unsuspecting Megamind and his faithful minion were listening to Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead or Alive'. It echoed into the junk room along with the high pitched buzz of a saw and something metallic clanking in the distance.

"Would you listen to that, sounds like he's busy. Let's go before I feel compelled to offer you a lemonade," she said with as much reinforced sarcasm as she could muster, but that failed to stop him. "Please, Mayor Carson. I know you think being mayor and all entitles you to invading people's homes, but-"

Ignoring her, the tight-lipped mayor simply began to walk away. Roxanne threw her hands into the air and sighed, proceeding hastily going after him. She had no doubt Megamind had plenty of methods of getting rid of unwanted guests, but Carson's safety wasn't the issue here—it was the legion of cameras and spectators outside she was worried about.

Roxanne chased the mayor up a set of spiraling metal stairs, onto a loft that overlooked the expanded hangar. There were a half dozen catwalks leading in every direction, but the one directly in front of them led to a black curtain, behind which a bright light flickered. A few loud 'clunks' later, something that looked like a combination between a wrench and a laser pointer went flying out from the curtains. Carson ducked just in time as the projectile whizzed overhead.

"I'm warning you," Roxanne said loudly, over top of the music even as her 'guest' puffed out his chest and continued forward. "Who knows what an unstable mind like Megamind's will do when he finds out you just _walked_ into his lair, uninvited?"

"But I do have an invitation, Roxanne," the politician said with a wry glance over his shoulder. "Yours. I wonder, what kind of project is Megamelon working on that's putting _our_ city's finances to, how shall I say, 'good' use?"

She reached out in vain and winced as all but the curtain parted them from the master of the lair, which swayed a little in the breeze created by the two dancing maniacs behind it. "Okay, final warning. He's far more dangerous than you think, Mayor. This is your last chance to not invoke the socially nefarious genius that's—"

The black curtain blew open suddenly as the Mayor of Metro City pulled on a nearby rope, revealing the scene behind it. Megamind whirled around, blowtorch in hand, adorned in a smooth latex suit, a studded cape, dark goggles, a thick plastic shower cap and a thin white stick in his mouth. As the music thumped in the background, the quartet—Roxanne, Carson, Minion and the mastermind—all stared at each other for a few seconds that felt like eternity. Then, slowly, Megamind took the purple lollipop from his mouth, and tossed it over his shoulder. The torch dropped to the ground with a clang. Bon Jovi cut out in mid-chorus.

"Who are you?" demanded Megamind, narrowing his eyes behind their cover. Minion glanced between them both with a look of grave concern on his face.

"Ugh," said Roxanne, pinching the bridge of her nose in dismay. "Megamind, Mayor Carson. Mayor Carson, Megamind. I should have just woken up this morning and shot myself in the foot. I'd be in less pain right now."

"So, let me rephrase the question," the blue one said, and stepped forward as he pulled the goggles and cap off his head. "Roxanne, why is there a monkey in a suit standing so close to me?"

"Megamind," she replied with forced patience. "This is _Mayor_ Carson, who was elected last week to take over the city's leadership. Remember? When you agreed to relinquish _City Hall_ to him and you moved your _things_ back _here?"_

Baby steps, she told herself. If she thought in baby steps, this would all be over soon and she could stop worrying an explosion of testosterone and leather.

"That's quite all right, Miss Ritchie; as I understand it, Megaman doesn't have much of an idea of respect for the government's superiority," said Mayor Carson smoothly. "Now this...this," he went on, gesturing to the enormous black machine behind Minion's back.

"Gigantic fusion battery-powered battle suit," Megamind supplied through his teeth.

Roxanne mouthed the word 'easy' to him with a rigid look, to which he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, exactly," the mayor finished with zero commitment to that statement. "I distinctly remember this being utterly worthless in the fight against Tighten, unless Metro City News' resources were wrong. I doubt that. Anyway, I don't see how wasting money on its repairs is going to help you track down and arrest this 'Smiley' man who's threatening the city."

"Whoever says I intend to use it to track down that incompetent amateur?" Megamind lashed back, as Minion cringed in preparation for his best friend's uncontrollable ego. "What if instead, I choose to use it to deliver cookies to the inmates—"

"Orphans," Minion whispered loudly next to his ear.

"—_orphans_ and the other less fortunate abandoned offspring of delinquents, hmm?" he demanded, using his index finger to define his point. "What kind of heartless man would deny small, helpless, incarcerated children their cookies?"

A flock of brain-bots descended behind their 'daddy', their menacing buzz-chomps seemingly putting no such dent in the momentum of Mayor Carson. The politician calmly adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. "Please. I only aim to suggest what's best for Metro City, Megahead. No need for such hostile accusations."

"Oh, oh, I see," said Megamind, putting a hand on his chin. "Well, by all means, we prepared a special box to put those kinds of suggestions in," he added, pointing swiftly with an evilly furled brow at a brain-bot with an oversized metal jaw and razor-sharp spikes on its back. It was hovering over the work table nearby.

"Uh, Miss Ritchie?" The young voice of Roxanne's new camera man suddenly drew everyone's attention back to the catwalks. Sure enough, her bored-looking camera operator was standing there, apparently not phased in the slightest by his surroundings.

"Who are _you_? Why don't you just order a _pizza_?" Megamind half-yelled, throwing his hands out to Roxanne in exasperation. She glared at him.

"Uh, yeah," her employee said, shrugging. "Not to bother you or anything, but someone said you should turn on a TV or something. Peace out." And he turned to saunter off again.

Roxanne looked to Megamind, and Megamind looked to Mayor Carson. Minion was the only one responsive enough to pick up a square-ish device off the crowded work table and point it at the group of television monitors across the hanging loft. All six screens poofed to life at once, showing an illuminating blanket of white static. Then, before they could gauge each others' reactions, a computer generated smiley face appeared on the station, swiveling left and right with cartoonishly slanted eyebrows, as though observing them.

"Well, that's both unexpected and a little bit impressive. But mostly unexpected," said the resident blue genius as genuine anxiety assumed his features.

"_Hello, Metro City_," said a smooth, slithery voice, straight from the animated smiley face's mouth. Its bizarrely expressive face twisted and turned while it spoke. "_My apologies for interrupting your broadcasts. I just wanted to set the record straight for the incident that occurred last night. You see, I am no villain. I am a man seeking justice, just as you are. I am going to be placing my special explosives in key sections of your city, heavily guarded by my own, precious minions to ensure that _no one_ tampers with the truths that I feel compelled to expose._

_ "Yes, call me a villain if you must. But Megamind, I know your little secret. It will only be a matter of time before everyone else knows it, too. You're still a villain. Go on and try to deny it, it won't matter to those you care about the most in the end. If you care about them, or about any of the citizens of Metro City, you will turn yourself over to me, unarmed and alone, before you make a whole lot of people...frown."_

Everyone stared at the talking smiley, as its mouth curved into a shockingly and disturbingly happy grin. "_And remember, Metro City. A smile a day keeps bad dreams at bay."_

The static and the yellow face both vanished as each of the monitors returned to their normal programming. Stunned silence filled the lair.

At long last, Minion broke the mood with an uncomfortable laugh. "Soooo...ah...anyone for pizza?"


	4. Absolute Abduction

_**Being the Hero**_

AN: I've been receiving an unorthodox amount of praise. I mean, it's fuzzy and mushy, but it's...fuzzy and mushy. The only fuzzy and mushy thing I can think of is the milk I left curdling in my bedroom last week.

...your fuzzy and mushy is better. Keep fuzzing and mushing.

I'm actually sorry this chapter is agonizingly short. It was either load this, or wait until tomorrow. Work is such agony. Agony is the word of the day. But this kind of short chapter won't ever happen again—my internet was out, and I spent most of my free time trying to fix it. Yeah. They didn't teach me that in schhool.

* * *

_Chapter Four: Absolute Abduction_

* * *

_ "_Megamind-"

"I know, I know, I was far too easy on him," said Megamind, not so long after their guests had departed the lair and Roxanne and he were alone. He began to tweak things on the gadget attached to the thick, black plating around the giant battlesuit, smirking. "Honestly, all this acting out and taking the heat for being Metrocity's biggest star has taught me a valuable life lesson: to forgive and forget, rather than freeze, fry, or dehydrate."

"Ah ha, _such_ restraint," she commented, and sighed. She put her hand on his studded shoulder and turned him around so she could look him in the eyes. "Aren't you even the slightest bit worried about what Smiley had to say about you? Or were you too busy dreaming up ways to make Carson look like a complete fool in front of the entire city?"

He jolted out of whatever fantasy he had been conjuring in his mind, and focused on her instead. "I'm sorry, Roxie, I didn't quite hear that. I was too busy dreaming up a way to make Mayor Carson look like a complete fool in front of the entire city," he said, chuckling with misguided happiness at the thought. "Ah, marshmallows. Is there anything they can't humiliate?"

"And this is what I get for thinking you'd take this seriously," she berated as she put her hands on her hips.

That seemed to get his attention, finally. Together, they started to walk along the catwalks and down a set of stairs that led to the main level. "What? No. No, no, no, Roxanne, of course I am." As if predicting what would be coming next, the various brain-bots that had been flying around overhead started to back off and disperse one by one. "But what do you expect me to do? A bunch of smiley faces are coming to get me; ooooh, _scary_. This man's a hoax. He's not even a villain! He said so himself—now, a _real_ villain would never deny his villainity, no matter _how evil_ his intentions are."

"He almost blew you up, Megamind. How can you treat that so lightly?"

"Oh, come on. How many times has Metroman 'almost' pulverized me into a thick blue soup? How many times did he 'almost' drop me from a five hundred foot tall building? I'm really asking—I think I lost count after five hundred and six."

"That was different!" Roxanne threw her hands in the air as Megamind stepped aside to leave and said to his back, "If you won't take his threat seriously, then _I_ will. And...so will Mayor Carson."

Megamind froze. Then, slowly, he twisted around to give her a long, incredulous look.

"Oops, did I just say that?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I? There are one point five million people lives on the line, Megamind. _You're_ not the only one living in this city that I actually care about."

He stood there for a moment, half-turned around in a slouched posture easily recognizable as the 'acceptance of defeated stance', which she observed oftentimes in the past during his plots against Metroman. Eventually, he let out a small sigh and nodded his head. "All right, you win. This...'Smiley'," he said, waving his hands sarcastically, "wants to try to best Metrocity's greatest supervillain at his very own game, then I say...let the games begin! To City Hall!"

"Great. Now just replace 'Metrocity' with 'Metro City' and 'supervillain' with 'superhero' and there might be some hope for you yet," Roxanne told him, touching his cheek with a soft hand.

He smiled at her in return. "Shall we?"

Megamind reached out and put a hand on the handle to the not-so-secret side door to his lair's main level. When it swung open, a sea of multi-coloured faces, microphones, cameras and picket signs greeted them. Followed by an eruption of nonsensical voices. He promptly threw his shoulder against the door and slammed it shut again, putting his back to it and hugging the wall. "On second thought, why don't we take the invisible car?"

"I'll get the keys."

* * *

"Hmm hmm," Minion hummed to himself, simultaneously finishing off a verse of 'Highway to Hell' and polishing the very last stainless steel screw in the bin labeled 'Use These', which was coincidentally sitting next to another bin filled with similar, non-stainless screws labeled 'Not These'. Feeling rather content with his zealous attention to detail and cleanliness (at least where Megamind's tools were concerned), the fish decided it was time to go prepare dinner for everyone.

His mind was buzzing with decisions. Potatoes or broccoli? Spinach stew or western omlettes? He could make a dozen cookies, but he wasn't too sure if Roxanne liked chocolate chip or peanut butter. Or—he gasped inwardly—she might even have a peanut allergy! Thank goodness he thought of that before he mixed the dough together.

Minion climbed the spiral staircase with a light dance in his step, unable to shake his good mood despite what had just happened on TV. Maybe it was because he knew Megamind would be back to his old self, sooner or later. Whoever this Smiley person was, they'd handle it together, and laugh and laugh and laugh...just like the good old days. Including Roxanne this time, of course.

He thought he heard something move amidst the computer controls nearby, rustling the unkempt scrap metal left behind by their last project. Minion paused at the top of the stairs and raised a dramatic yet somehow rhetorical eyebrow. "Uh, hello? Roxanne, is that you?"

No answer. Most of the brain-bots should have been either charging or finishing the repairs on the battlesuit by now. When nothing else happened, the fish in his robotic suit simply shrugged and started to walk towards the 'kitchen' area of the loft.

When the tank surrounding him shattered, his first instinct was to swim against the current as the water rushed through the jagged openings. Then he was being pulled, taken away from his body, and thrown into a warm, dry bag, where it was dark.

Very, very dark.


	5. Menacing Mentality

**_Being the Hero_**

**_

* * *

_**

**AN:** So the site is sabotaging all of my attempts to format my stories. I mean, really. They're YOUR HR HTML code page breaks, Fanfiction dot net, excluding them when I hit the Save button does not a smart or independent website make. Seem. Be.

I never intended for this to somehow come from Roxanne's point of view, but it's slipped that way. It makes Megamind's moments much more memorable. Mmmm.

Also, I have a secret. We're all on the Internetz. Shhhh.

* * *

_Chapter Five: Menacing Mentality_

mm-mm

""_-reporting in on the latest update about the explosive threat inside Metro City's finest museums. So far, the police have heroically located and diffused three of the promised bombs with no sign of the Smiley man or the minions of his unfathomably evil trade. Everyone seems to be asking the same questions: who is this perpetrator and where is Megamind? This is-"_

Roxanne turned off the radio with an annoyed click. "I knew he was up to something," she commented, gripping the steering wheel tighter in her hands. "You know, just _once_ I'd like to see Herman report on something original for once. I mean, on top of everything else that's happened lately, why do I still even _have_ my job?"

The honest part of herself expected Megamind, who had been in a slump ever since they returned from City Hall after being denied 'proper' admittance, too stay silent in his self-reflective gloom. It hadn't occurred to her that the mayor would take Smiley's threats seriously, but she had no doubt in her mind that if the people of Metro City backed him up, he'd throw Megamind to the wolf in a heartbeat. Well, he'd try to, anyway.

But the blue ex-supervillain look at her with an arched brow, and its inquisitive yet hesitant nature had her worried that she'd said something wrong. "Okay, what now?"

"Perhaps I misjudged him," he said a little wistfully.

"Who, the Smiley man?"

"Hmmm? Oh, no. I've accidentally sat on things more frightening than that nightmare of a villain wannabe. I was referring to the Mayor, actually. Why _did_ you let him into my lair anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know, possibly because he's the one man in the whole city with the power to waive your pardon, have you arrested and thrown into prison for the next two thousand and twenty years?"

"Ah," he replied. Then, he gave her a slight side-glance and asked, "So you don't find him...by random example...attractive?"

It was a good thing she was pulling the car into the vast lot behind the lair, or she would have slammed on the brakes and caused an accident so strong her reaction was to the question. "That's a twisted joke, right? Me and him? Why would you even suggest something like that?"

Megamind opened his mouth to respond, but the transmitter on his wrist abruptly began to flash and beep violently. For the first time since he'd been forced to fight Tighten, he looked genuinely bewildered. Scared, even. He burst out of the car and tried unsuccessfully to yell into his forearm for a response from the aquatic sidekick. "Minion? Minion! That's his emergency suit transponder; he's in danger! I have to—we'll talk about everything I just erranously blurted out later, I swear—Minion, I'm coming!"

As he took off at a run towards the secret entrance he had installed just recently and wouldn't even tell Minion about, Roxanne opened the door of the invisible car and stepped out after him. Growling under her breath about running in high heels and never getting the chance to get changed out of her work clothes, the frazzled reporter made her way across the pavement and hidden staircase in bare feet.

It was a tedious journey into the lair; the metal was cold on her toes and the entire laboratory where she entered and ducked swiftly into was echoing with scattered brain-bot sounds. It was strange, she'd never heard them sound as disorganized as they seemed now. She almost didn't duck in time as one, brightly glowing red robotic menace whizzed past her head in some sort of desperate search. So far behind Megamind now, she knew her only hope of locating him would be to follow the random stream of panicked buzz-chompers, so she managed to storm around a few corners, past the hangar where the giant battle suit was being held and closer to a section of the lair she rarely ever got close to. Two new feelings opened up inside her as she approached—uneasiness and embarrassment. The embarrassment came from her own twittering anger towards herself for thinking of _this_ part of the lair as untouchable, since it was the closest thing to a home Megamind had.

The uneasiness came when she spotted him standing over a prone Minion, or so she believed. Megamind's cape and high collar shielded most of his face and body language; however, she'd gotten to know him too well to need a visual confirmation of his distress.

"He's gone," he said aloud, the intensity in the statement as sharp as a needle. "I—no, that can't be—how—why—who? Him? No. It couldn't—but then what—" Sidestepping, the blue-skinned mastermind trudged in a circle around the abandoned robotic suit of his loyal friend, looking up into the crawling rafters. "Minion?" he called. Only an echo answered him.

The glass tank where Megamind's space fish friend, _her _friend, was shattered and empty and Minion himself was missing. Panic and logic wrestled with her brain for a moment, but Roxanne's logic won over in a second. "Okay, take a step back. He can't be that far if you just got the emergency...trans-coding whatever thing you were talking about, right?" she said. "Think this through rationally. Where in your lair could someone hide without anyone ever finding them, even _all_ of your brain-bots combined?"

"Whoever did this must have come through the secret entrance," he half-whispered, troubleshooting the question through his own frantic brain. "But that's impossible because I had it magnetically sealed right after _you_ exposed it to half the media center in town," he went on, pointing at her briefly and resumed pacing back and forth. He stopped suddenly, his faught going taut. "The dome!"

"Th-The dome?" Roxanne narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Wait, you mean...that dark, tinted place you never talk about, always avoid, and guard with no less than three hundred heavily armed robots? _That_ dome?"

"Are we going to stand around and argue about my five-star infirm sense of paranoia or go to the dome?" he shot back. "Agh, I get it! That's why he kidnapped Minion. Ha! Then clearly he has no idea who he's dealing with, challenging Megamind in his very own dominion!"

"And we're back to the challenging," Roxanne half-groaned, forcing her tired feet back into her high-heeled shoes. "By all means, if that's where you think this cretin took Minion, let's go rescue him before he starts growing fungus. I'm worried about him, too."

* * *

The thick door leading up into the dome section of the lair was outlined in soft blue lights. Megamind wasted no time upon their arrival to the other end of the old factory, and touched some parts of the wall that even she would never have guessed actually had a function. Roxanne was then distracted by the sound of a single brain-bot, which hovered up to them from behind. In its titanium grip was a medium-sized bowl of water; its red eye switched back and forth between them.

"Once I go inside," said Megamind. "I'm going to activate the Code Black and White brain-bots and they'll probably...maybe...most likely will be along in time to take care of whatever flimsy force he's taken inside with him. Just, uh...please don't follow me. And don't be angry! This dome is dangerous enough to be sealed with sub-ionic particle exterminators—I wouldn't be able to—"

"Just go," she said, making a shooing gesture. "I'm not going to enter your secret boy's club."

Relief flooded his face, and he resumed punching in the last code. The door swished open and a waft of warm, humid air blew across them both.

Roxanne heard the monster coming at her from behind and her instincts failed to provide the necessary action to avoid disaster. The next thing she knew, something cold had clamped itself around her wrist and she was airborne, flying through the air and straight into the hard of the large dome ahead, trapped in the mechanical claws strapped to her captor's arms. One glance up told her all she needed to know.

The Smiley man, somewhat smaller and less strikingly fit than she imagined, hovered in the midst of the dome with her on near-silent rockets. The mask he wore was bright, yellow and had a maddening, smiling face carved into the plastic. He wore a black, skin-tight suit with yellow pinstripes. _This_ was the frightening villain behind all the panic in Metro City.

And he was holding her in a large, mechanical hand, dangling from the thick steel cuffs slapped around her wrists. Then she noticed that Megamind was slowly rising to his feet, shaken by the force in which he'd been thrown to the ground by Smiley's entrance. Now he looked up at his new enemy and Roxanne with unveiled hatred.

"We meet face to face, Megamind," came a tinny version of the same voice from the television—emanating from the mask Smiley wore rather than from the mouth behind it. "In a manner of speaking. I'm sorry I couldn't come dressed more appropriately, but it seems that I had nothing to wear today. I hope my smile is enough."

"Put...Roxanne...down," Megamind growled through clenched teeth.

Roxanne was just getting used to floating in mid-air; she failed to fully realized that the inside of the dome was actually empty. Well, empty for everything except a large metal cylinder in the center. It was odd that this was what was going through her mind right now...maybe she really had been kidnapped and captured too many times. There was _no_ way this was healthy.

"You must be quite serious to pass up a chance to exchange the traditional banter with your nemesis," said the masked man. "Very well, then. We will cut to the chase. The first step in your downfall will begin with a revelation. Who do you care for more? Your loyal fish pet, or the love of your life? Yes, it's quite a cliche type of trial for the freshly crowned hero, but...I learn from the best."

Roxanne was going to say something, but swiftly changed her mind in mid-thought. This _had_ happened before. Megamind did the exact same thing to Metroman many times. Mistakenly, of course, since she _had never_ been the 'love' of Metroman's life._"_I hope you're in the mood for the thrashing of your life," she said to the Smiley man, struggling against the pinching metal cuffs out of spite.

As if on silent cue, her captor pressed a button on her cuffs. The box several yards under her feet burst open then, revealing a rack of at least two dozen bowling-ball sized glass spheres. Each and every one was painted yellow, unsurprisingly, with not a very uniquely designed smiley face.

"Inside one of these globes is your fish," said the tinny voice from the mask. "Inside three of the others are triggers, each one wired to detonate _these _explosive handcuffs should you so much lay a finger on their protective energy field. Choose whichever one you like—the decision is yours, Megamind. I would hurry, however. It's been quite some time since your minion had a breath of fresh air, let alone a drink of water."

There was a chilling stillness inside the dome, broken only by the nearly audible grinding of gears in Megamind's brain. However, the grinding didn't last long. "Oh, really," he said. A most terribly wicked smile spread across his face and he punched a single, tiny button on his sleeve with a slender finger. Two large, glowing turrets rose from the floor on either side of him, aimed and fired at the gathering of yellow globes at the same time.

They all froze for the briefest of moments, and promptly shrank into a smaller pile of dehydrated cubes.

"I told you so," Roxanne said as she turned her head to her captor.

Bizarrely, the Smiley man did not reply, move or even make a sound. Instead, he dropped his captor, who raced as quickly as she could to Megamind's side. The brain-bot that had joined them set upon cutting and dismantling the metal bracelet around her wrist, pulled it off in two seconds flat and sped out of the dome at top speed.

"Good move," she congratulated her boyfriend, confident now that he'd been right about this Smiley man and that capturing him had been _way_ too easy.

Megamind chuckled maliciously. "Yes, the dehydration ray never fails, does it?" Nonchalantly, he pushed another switch on his arm, and one of the turrets fired again on the nearest dehydrated cube. Both the glass globe and the water inside burst open as it sprang back up, and Minion did a half-flip in the air with a garbled gasp. Megamind plucked him up and dropped him into the bowl left behind by his brain-bot. "How are you feeling now, Minion?"

"Surprisingly good, boss," the fish replied, wheezing. "Please don't ever take that long again, sir."

"Oh, you'll live." His genius, blue-skinned friend then looked to their enemy once again, who had yet to move or speak since 'losing'. "It's time to admit defeat, _Smiley_ man. Take off the mask!"

And to his bewilderment, Smiley man did just that.


	6. Involuntary Infraction

_**Being the Hero**_

_**

* * *

**_

AN: I'll be honest (and hopefully not sound conceited). The past few days of updates are what I'd consider 'lazy', since I was both writing under huge time constraints and while very, very tired. Even this chapter is a bit 'rushed', since it's been a very long day at work. It's not horribly short or long. And it's nothing compared to intense story crayons to come.

I'm a tad bit concerned about people's expectations of this story...some very grandeur (thank you) and some kinda simplistic. I'll give you only this solid bit of advice: never try to predict the direction of the plot. Romance my specialty is not. I don't boast to be the awesome of the writing sauce of all time, but suspense and mystery...anyway, forget about me—bonus points if someone can catch my abusively stolen one-liner from one of the best movie sequel-sequel ever.

* * *

_Chapter Six: Involuntary Infraction_

_

* * *

_

"_What?" _

Megamind's shout of violent disbelief reverberated through the reinforced dome, utterly drowning out Roxanne's gasp of surprise. She finally managed to unlock her gaping mouth and squint her eyes at the face of the 'Smiley' man. "Steven?"

"Your _camera man_?" cried Megamind, throwing his arm out to point at the blank-faced, freckled college intern. "What kind of scientific deity would _condone_ such _irony_?"

Like he had been stricken physically by the force of his voice, Steven the camera man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly keeled over, falling into a limp heap. The mask skidded across the metal floor and slid up to Megamind's boot.

"_Thank you for giving me the time to stretch my legs, Megamind,"_ came the voice from the transmitter, hidden inside the frozen grin. "_I hope you don't mind if I borrow something of yours. I'm certain you'll thank me in the long run; after all, I am only looking out for your best interests. Have a smiley day now."_

As Megamind looked down in mild horror, the discarded mask began to crackle and fizz until it shorted out completely. Acrid smoke rose from its corners, marking the end of that particular conversation. "How..." His face fell dramatically. "How did I fall for the oldest trick in the book of evil?" he asked incredulously. "When did I become like _Metroman_?"

From his temporary storage bowl, Minion gasped. "Don't say that, sir! You'll never be that gullible! I'm sure you were just worried about the—uh, the secret...thing, so you were distracted. Right, Roxanne?"

"Of course," said Megamind before she could respond to that. "First, he steals my own technology to use against me, and then he brainwashes Stel to become his henchman! Why didn't I see this coming?"

"It's Steven, not Stel. And I don't quite think 'brainwashed' is the right word for this," Roxanne said from her crouching position next to the unconscious, drooling intern. She'd turned his head and was pointing to the star-shaped device sticking to the back of Steven's neck. "Something of yours by any chance?"

The blue mega-genius furled his brow as he moved closer to them both. He looked down at the device suspiciously. "Mind control," he said slowly, clearly unwilling to outright admit that he hadn't perfected such a device yet. "Not exactly my forte, to be honest. It's a crude form of enslaving the human population; I always preferred the old fashioned shock and terror method."

As he spoke, a small flood of brain-bots entered through the door on the far side and floating towards them. They were notably different in design and colouration; they each had two, sturdier looking arms and were vibrant with glowing white tendrils and ultra violet. The combination made their hovering herd, a gathering that included the standard set of swiveling red eyes, seem twice as menacing as the other brain-bots.

"Oh, look, it's my Black and Whites," Megamind said, smiling and seething with fake warmth. "Come to save the day and take all the credit. _Bad_ robots! Daddy specifically programmed you to protect the beacon! Who told you to leave your posts?"

Their stalk-like eyes turned one way and another; the floating brain-bots looked at each other, buzz-chomping uncertainly, as though confused by their 'daddy's reprimand. Megamind waved an arm at them. "What are you all looking at? Clean up this mess and make sure _that_ stays sealed!" he ordered sharply, pointing at the cylindrical metal object in the middle of the room. The Black and Whites took off in a flash to obey, evidently not eager to disappoint their creator a second time.

Roxanne wanted to ask what the metal tube was all about, but a groan from her camera man distracted her off the topic. "I think you're about to get at least a few answers," she said to Megamind's back. "He's coming around."

Steven opened his eyes and blinked sleepily with a half-pained look on his face. "Duuude...it feels like my brain swallowed a thumb tack."

"Lucky for you, that's nothing compared to what could have happened to you, Steven," Roxanne sighed, helping him sit up. The intern looked down at the robotic claw devices on his hands with obvious confusion.

"Whoa. Where'd these doo-hickies come from?" he said, and looked around. Upon spotting Megamind, he pointed at him. "Dude, I remember you—you're Megamind. That's totally awesome, man, you're like my favourite space dude ever."

"You don't remember anything? Not even coming inside Megamind's lair to tell me to turn on a TV earlier today?" Roxanne probed cautiously.

"Megamind's lair? Is that where we are? Sweet, man. Hey, do you think I could like, get some kind of tour or something?"

Slowly, Megamind put a black leather glove over his face and turned towards the exit of the dome. "Come on, we'll go downstairs and have the brain-bots remove the mind control device. Looks like I'll be up all night trying to figure out what _else_ was stolen from my lair."

Roxanne helped Steve removed the mechanical hands from the harness he was wearing and steadied him as they rose to their feet together. Two of the Black and White brain-bots whizzed over to take her place as the camera man put his arms around them for support. "Roxie, you're the best, man. I'm like, totally not into you or anything, but you and me—we could be bros."

"Bros. I can handle that. Go home and take a long nap, Steven; feel free to take the day off tomorrow, okay?" She gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and hastily went to join Megamind as they walked to the door side-by-side. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the mind-controlling effects have worn off."

"Yes, the mask was probably the relaying device used to control the neurological attachment," he replied, sounding anything but thrilled to have come to that conclusion. He snapped his fingers, and another brain-bot floated down to pick up Minion's bowl, before falling into step with them. "Minion, have you any idea how he broke into the dome? Any at all?"

"I have no idea, sir. I don't think he actually went into the dome before you opened it. I mean, only the brain-bots can open the door other than you, and only if you tell them to."

"That doesn't make any sense," sighed Roxanne, unable to refrain from stealing one last glance behind, past Steve and the brain-bots, at the device inside the dome. Then the door slid shut and locked. "How would he get that crate—_and Minion—_into the dome without actually going inside?"

"More importantly, why go through _all_ that trouble just for some measly, third-rate distraction?" Megamind mused. "My brain-bots are programmed perfectly. Nobody gets past them without losing an arm or an eye or a spleen. What could possibly be the piece of the puzzle that I'm missing?"

Sensing a potential meltdown due to the stress of his being over-villain-ified, Roxanne stepped over slightly and hooked her arm around his. She tilted her head at him and smiled. "You're the hero, remember? Let him win a few battles. We both know who's going to win the war."

His hand tightened around hers, and he turned his head. "You always know just what to say. How do you do that?"

"It's a side effect of having to listen to your childish banter over the period of two ninety-two kidnappings."

"Oh."

She let him dwell on that a moment while they stepped on to the lift that would eventually carry them back down to the main lair. "Megamind, that was a joke. I care about you. That's what you do for people you...care about. You support them."

His expression softened, but his eyes were still filled with hesitation and doubt, most of which was probably self-targeted. "I...care about you too, Roxanne," he said, in a way that suggested he could have said more, but didn't. Maybe it was because Minion was there with them, putting a stopper in their attempt to find some kind of emotional closure.

Or maybe it was reality crashing down around them, leaving nothing but tiny reflections of the pure and simple past. As they arrived in the musty old innards of the lair, Roxanne found herself missing those few wonderful days when falling in love felt like breathing for the very first time after a lifetime of suffocation.

* * *

There was no audible indication that his contact had arrived, but when the man standing in the shadows of the abandoned room saw the flash of a smooth metal mask in the moonlight cast by the window, his growing impatience turned into relief. "It's about time you got here," he said, studying the smiling face of the visage in front of him. "Did you get the...the device?"

Silently, the villain in the large yellow mask approached the empty table and placed the object of their contract down gently. The Man in the Shadows picked it up in two hands, allowing himself his very own, hungry smile. "You're positive this works? It feels too...cheap to be something of Megamind's caliber. You realize what would happen if you betrayed me, right?"

There was no response from the Smiley man. Man in the Shadows sighed impatiently and set the 'device' down with a thunk. "You're probably wondering why we're going through all this trouble just to put Megamind behind bars again, aren't you?"

A pause occurred. "I have a vague understanding of your reasons."

"If that were really true, we wouldn't have to fake these bomb threats and just skip to the down and dirty," drawled the Man in the Shadows. "This city _needs _a supervillain. Without one, it grows stagnant and bitter. People who feel constantly feel safe start seeing villains in each other. They have to be reminded that there are monsters under their beds to make sure we all get along."

His contact said nothing in return, simply staring on with lifeless black eyes. The Man in the Shadows scoffed. "Whatever—you've done your part. When my client has this device and rids Metro City of our newest 'hero', you can do as you please. You can go now."

As silently as he arrived, the Smiley man departed, leaving nothing behind but the fluttering of a cape and the memory of his eternally sadistic smile.


	7. Nighttime Nuances

**_Being the Hero_**

**_

* * *

_****AN:** Well, just to prove I'm human...there was a half a day's delay in uploading. Taking time to plan out the exact order of events to come. Contemplating going to see the movie again. Contemplating building a robotic replacement and slipping out the back door. Well, at least this chapter marks the turning point in which more questions are answered than asked. Unless I'm just so good, that I'm BAD.

No purchase necessary, must be legal drinking age. Which, by the way, is totally 19 here in Canada. Where was I?

* * *

_Chapter Seven: Nighttime Nuances_

* * *

Quietly, so as to not disturb the distant background noise of traffic, sirens and other normal, 'mundane' sounds that people made to blanket the city, the wind rode through the towering reaches of the museum. It was dark, nearly as dark as the lone figure that stood on the circular catwalk. He was gazing up at the massive statue of the triumphant hero of Metro City.

"So that's what happened," said Megamind, leaning on the railing in front of him, precognitively dressed in something more menacing than his pajamas. "Minion was saved, Roxanne..." He let out a sigh. "And to top it all off, my watch was stolen. Oh, and the Superpower Infuser Ray Gun, which let me tell you is another vine of grapes going sour on my plate of good deeds."

Surprisingly, the statue did not reply.

Megamind stared at his own face, enlarged by a ratio of one to one thousand, and reflected on the peculiar way it was always smiling. Like that dastardly elusive Smiley man, seemingly eternally laughing at a joke that no one told, or maybe it was an inside one that no one could get. Either way, whatever the statue had to smile about, that feeling was long gone.

"Oh, me," he said to the stone replica. "If only you'd known one month ago that it would all come to this. I'm no hero—I can't even bring myself to tell Roxanne how much I...feel for her," he added slowly, and hung his head. "Maybe we're just fooling ourselves. All those countless times I put her life in danger, she couldn't possibly forget them all because of one measly victory over some second-rate buffoon."

He looked up again at the statue and pushed back from the railing. "In any case, it's time to say goodbye," he said, taking out a small device in his hands. "Now that I have to blow this place up again. Don't take it personally, me; it's just that there's just too many painfully good memories here."

After a pause, Megamind's face broke into a laugh. "Ha! Just kidding. How could I ever call myself a changed man if I destroyed a face as devilishly handsome as that? Ahhh, had you going though, didn't I?"

It was time to turn and leave, what with the hundreds of brain-bots waiting for him at the base of the tower in order to begin the city-wide search for Smiley man. As he did, however, Megamind froze solid in his tracks. Twenty feet ahead of him, there was someone standing behind a cart, just staring straight back at him. A female—a mousy little woman with glasses, though she looked more like an elk in the headlights of a car.

For a moment, they stared at each other, not moving. "How...long have you been standing there?" Megamind asked after a grossly awkward silence.

Finally, she seemed intellectually capable enough to stop gaping. "N-Not long at all," she said quickly. "Well, long enough to overhear something about Miss Ritchi and you not wanting to blow up the museum—which by the way, is _great_, because I just got this job and I still kind of need it to pay my rent. You...you aren't going to dehydrate me, are you?"

"Actually, I wasn't planning on it," he said, maybe too cheerfully and laughed. Megamind glanced left, then right, unsuccessfully trying to find an escape route. He couldn't trust anyone or anything he saw until he got his stolen equipment back. He tapped a control on one of his cuffs behind his back frantically. "If only I'd remembered to bring my knockout spray, because this is very humiliating and I'm rambling on about it for some reason which doesn't seem to be making it any better."

"Oh, no, no!" the bookish female said, waving a dismissive hand. "I understand _entirely_ what you're going through. If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Megamind, most relationships don't make it past the first argument. I mean, really, what bachelor wants to live with someone who doesn't slavishly agree with you—him on every little detail for the rest of his life?"

Megamind blinked at her and backed up another step until his back hit the railing—the outer railing. "Yes, you're completely right," he said, as though talking to one of the crazy inmates back in his childhood home. "Excellent point. Well, it was nice chatting with you. Sorry to take off so suddenly, but I have a, uh...hair appointment, somewhere. Right now." With that, he hopped up onto the railing and then leaped into the air.

Four brain-bots shot into the picture to snag him before he fell. As he began his slow descent towards the ground, Megamind covered his face with his hands and groaned. What would tomorrow's headlines be? 'Big Brain Loses Biggest Bet?' 'Megamind's Love Life Ruined'?

One thing was for sure. Tonight would be a long, long night.

The bookish museum employee stood on the catwalk and observed as the city's newest superhero flew off in the arms of his creations. Fixing herself with a wry smile, she turned back to her cart and activated the communication link on her arm mechanism. "Master, I have confirmation you requested of Megamind's infatuation with Roxanne Ritchi. Phase Two of the plan is now in motion."

"_Excellent_," said the voice on the link. "_Then we can go on and proceed with Phase Three. Let 'Mr. Smiley' know that his ridiculous client can join our little party at any time. This city will know shortly who the real supervillain is, and the entire world will soon follow."_

"Of course, sir," she replied before the link went dead. "My only reason for living is to obey you."

* * *

It was a quiet night for Roxanne, spending the remainder of her evening alone at an all-night cafe, eating her cranberry cake as slowly as she possibly could to let her think in peace. Having spent most of the day being ignored by an overly panicked Megamind tearing through his vault of inventions for the Superpower Infuser-whatever, she was tired and upset. Who was she upset with? She had no clue.

Part of her might have been worried about getting kidnapped—again—but knowing Megamind, he probably had brain-bots all over the city by now looking for his stolen 'baby'. The buzzing-chomping sound they made had become a welcome ambiance for the citizens of Metro City, rather than something repressive and loathsome.

What was she expecting, really? An answer to the question she asked him the other day? How _could_ he even suggest that she would even think of someone else when she was _with_ him?

'With' him. So that pretty much summed it up; was she with him, and in what way? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Did such a description even come close to the bizarreness that brought them together? Why was it so hard to just come out and say what she felt? _Guess what, Megamind? I looked back on the day that I dumped you. I care about you! I need you, Megamind! I might as well just give him a friendship bracelet._

There was such a conflict between what she wanted and what was _real_ that it almost physically hurt.

"Miss Ritchi, what a surprise. I had no idea I'd run in to you like this," said a disturbingly familiar and confident voice from above her seat. She was snapped back to reality, where she saw the surrounding umbrella-covered tables, basked in the glowing, decorative lights, and a well-dressed mayor standing in front of the chair opposite of her. "Do you mind if I take this seat?"

"Actually—" she started, wanting anything _but_ that.

Mayor Carson pulled the chair back and sat down anyway, and puts his fists together in front of him. "I think you and I got off on the wrong foot, Roxanne. I've been sensing a lot of hostility from you, and I just wanted to set the records straight."

"Oh, I think they're pretty straight," Roxanne replied, pressing her lips together. She had to resist the urge to throw her cranberry cake in his face.

"Not from my point of view, they're not. It ocurred to me just recently that you might have taken offense to the...allusions I've been making about you and Megaman."

"_Megamind_."

"Yes, him. You know that as Mayor of Metro City, I have to carry certain...opinions of celebrities such as him, which are sometimes not the most positive. My own opinions, naturally, would differ greatly."

"Really?" she asked, gripping the edge of the table until the tablecloth bunched around her fingers. "Because if I remember correctly, just about every time you've made a so-called 'allusion' has either been off the record, or somewhere where the cameras can't see you."

"Of course it would seem that way." The mayor picked up the half-empty wine glass that instantly became his when it touched his lips. He took a sip and set it down. "The world of politics is twisted and unusual; it's not your job to understand these things. Being mayor, I have a sworn duty to protect the citizens of this city from themselves."

"The people of this city _love_ Megamind," she snapped at him, punctuating the last two words. "They even loved him when he was the supervillain and Metroman was the city's hero. Do you know why?"

Carson seemed to be opening his mouth to make a suave response, but she cut him off.

"Because he made their lives _interesting_. He made Metro City, interesting. Good guy or bad guy, he's quite possibly the only one constant thing in this town people have to depend on. I don't _care_ what you think you're sworn 'duty' is, Mr. Mayor, but I swear that if it involves sabotaging Megamind in any way, shape, or form, you'll be doing what's _worst _for the citizens of Metro City. And that's, 'off the record'."

She was feeling pretty good about herself for blurting out everything she thought of him and his so-called politics. But despite how well she knew her words, for some reason, Mayor Carson didn't look frazzled in the slightest.

"The citizens love Megamind, you say," he said after a minute. He picked up the glass of wine, and before he took a second sip, he added, "Do you?"

Roxanne studied him in silence, knocked speechless and desensitized by the bluntness of the question. This was right about when a series of bright lights went off in her face, and she tried to shield her face from the onslaught of clicks and bulb flashes.

She was stunned even more to witness the gaggle of reporters who had snuck up on them during her miniature rant. Her bewilderment quickly turned to ire when she realized what had just happened. "You...you weasel!" she growled at the mayor, as the free press began to scatter with their stolen shots. "Oh, ho, ho...you have _no_ idea what kind of trouble you're asking for, Mayor."

"I'm sorry, Miss Ritchi, I have to take this," he replied curtly, as less than a second later, his cell phone went off. He answered the call with one hand and finished off the wine with the other. Silently, he listened to what was said on the other end, and then ended the call. "Thank you for waiting; I know it was so terribly rude of me right in the middle of this lovely evening. I'm afraid I'm needed elsewhere. And just so we're not parting on bad terms, I'll put this and whatever else you'd like to order your pretty self tonight on my tab."

Roxanne had no response to that, at least not one she could express in the English language. The mayor was joined by his bodyguards and the reporters who had withdrawn from their table, but she was no longer paying attention to the slimebag who had just destroyed her peaceful night. There were two more things on her mind, both of which related to the events that had just unfolded.

A brain-bot flew past over her head. The sound didn't stir the slightest response in the other cafe customers, but it instantly made her think about Megamind. For the first time in her entire career, her reporter's instincts didn't know how to answer the question that had been exposed tonight.

Worse yet, the answer to the question she'd asked Megamind in the car no longer mattered, because as far as tomorrow's news was concerned...the answer was obvious.


	8. Disaster Day Part 1

**_Being the Hero_**

**_

* * *

_**

AN: And back to our regular scheduled programming...I'm actually on my last day ot training in work, making the transition to on-the-floor training for two weeks. Though this chapter isn't as meaty as I'd hoped, it's the first half of a two-parter, the second half of which will have a negative impact on your socks. Don't be fooled by the title. It's not as bad as you're predicting right now. It's worse.

I'm running short of Megamind funny juice. Will see movie again tomorrow. Maybe by the the self-narration will stop. She typed, with a forlorn look on her face as she gazed longingly out the patio door...

* * *

_Chapter Eight: Disaster Day (Part 1)_

_

* * *

_

The Man in the Shadows, though no longer hidden by the shadows of his new office, stood nearby as Carson examined himself in a full-length mirror.

"So, Mayor, what do you think about the new you?" he asked with a slight smirk on his face. "Is it everything you dreamed of?"

Perhaps it was the touch of sarcasm in the shorter man's voice, but Mayor Carson felt utterly ridiculous standing where he was, dressed as he was. "I don't feel any different. This outfit is something else entirely. Really, is this necessary? Somehow, this plan doesn't seem like the grand opening I'd been expecting when I hired you."

"It's necessary," the Man said with a dreary sigh as he turned away from the mirror and placed his hands on the cold, empty syringe gun lying on his desk. "It's something the brainless masses expect of their superheroes; something about grown men in tights giving off this aura of capability or something."

"Is that so? Hmm, Megabrain is allowed his own wardrobe, yet somehow they expect him to be their lightbulb-shaped guiding light."

"No one expects Megamind to be anything, let alone a hero," said the Man formerly in the Shadows, a lot more forcefully than was necessary. "Look at me; you'd think I hate the man after what I went through, but thankfully for him, I'm not that petty. After all, it's thanks to him that I lost everything. Not that I had much to begin with."

"Well, isn't it a good thing you're getting that promotion I promised you?" Mayor Carson smiled smugly, and patted down the front of his skin-tight suit. "Once I set things right in this lawfully backwards town, I'll throw my weight behind you in the next election. After all, who would argue with the newest protector of Metro City?"

"Just as long as Megamind goes back to jail," came the bored reply. "I can't stand the thought of him getting any more attention than he deserves."

Mayor Carson slowly turned away from the mirror and looked down at the evil madman's broken device on the oak-polished desk. With the slightest darkening of expression, he reached down and picked up the drained Superpower Infuser Ray Gun, and crushed it between his hands as though it were a sheet of paper. He dropped the resulting ball of glass and metal into the empty wastebasket nearby.

"Such a waste of scientific talent," he said with genuine, however self-righteous dismay. "Speaking of which...I've been thinking about this plan. How far exactly can we trust this Smiley figure? For someone so interested in justice, he has a certain lack of...morals."

"You just let me worry about him, Mayor. He wants the same thing we want—to see Megamind become the supervillain he's supposed to be. When it comes to changing the minds of one and a half million people, sometimes drastic measures are needed."

"Drastic, yes. I just hope he plans on sticking to his side of the bargain." Examining himself again in the mirror, Carson inhaled deeply and turned to the window across the room. "I think I just came up with my new name, Bernard."

"Oh, really?" said Bernard with an apparent lack of interest. "By all means; let's hear it."

The mayor rose from the ground without even realizing, looking at the bright orange sun as it rose, peaking through the skyscrapers and towers of the city. "I think I'll go with...Gladius. The rightful sword of Metro City, crafted to bring an end to the suffering of the citizens in their self-destructive spiral of delusion."

"How poetic."

Carson cast a glare over his shoulder before returning his attention to the cityscape. "You had better not let me down, Smiley man."

* * *

When Roxanne arrived at Megamind's lair, it was quiet—eerily devoid of the sound of brain-bots, music or tinkering. Metal chains clinked against each other, dangling from the ceiling next to some local junk, caught inside the gentle push of an airy draft.

Feeling a knot forming in his stomach, she called out, tentatively, "Megamind?"

"Oh, Miss Ritchi," said Minion, whom she'd mistaken for just another pile of scrap before he moved. Upon meeting her gaze, there was a twinge of uncertainty on his face. "You, um, you're here early. That's...that's wonderful."

"Please don't tell me." She put a hand over her eyes. "The newspaper got here before me."

"No...not exactly," said the sidekick with a sympathetic squeak to his voice. "Ah, this was dropped in our mail slot this morning."

"You guys have a _mail—_you know what? That's not important." Even though her instincts screamed at her to turn around and flee, just so that she wouldn't have to awkwardly explain to Megamind how much of a dirty, sleazy cheater Mayor Carson was. Minion produced a manila envelope, in which a few photographs were sticking out. She didn't even need to look at them properly to know just how bad they seemed. "Minion, you believe me when I tell you that this is _not_ what it looks like right?"

"Oh, no, Miss Ritchi, not at all! I mean, yes—I mean, no—I mean—" He glanced around nervously, as though he might be overheard, and then leaned forward to whisper, "For what it's worth, you look_ amazin_g. Are you always that photogenic?"

"I'm a reporter—it's kind of a prerequisite, Minion," she replied, and smiled sadly. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. Is Megamind upstairs?"

"He's...in the dome, actually. I tried to explain the pictures to him using very small words, but you know him. He's just..."

"Stubborn and masochistic?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, then once he realized he'd said that so loudly, he quickly added, "...is what I'd say if I were a much _braver_ sidekick in a robotic monkey suit. Roxanne, listen, before you go up there, you should probably know—"

"Minion!" echoed Megamind's voice from far, far above.

Minion winced and finished his sentence in a string of hurried words, "—that last night, half of the brain-bots that went searching for the Smiley man never came back and Megamind's probably powering up the giant spaceship on top of the lair in order to go on a rampaging manhunt across the city. Okay, bye!" Leaping onto the stairs nearby, the mechanized, fish-controlled suit went gallivanting upwards. "On my way, boss!"

She looked on as he departed, he mouth slightly agape and her cheeks flushed red for a moment. "_Giant spaceship_?"

* * *

Only three minutes later, Roxanne was beating a fist on the metal door that led into the glass dome of Megamind's lair. One, two. "Megamind, it's me! Let me in! We have to talk."

Half of her expected to be ignored, while the other half swore that if he didn't open the door _right now_, she'd find a way to make him pay in the most humiliating way possible. Fortunately for him, she only had to wait five seconds before the magnetically sealed door hissed open and she was met with a very unusual sight—something she wasn't expecting to see inside the dome at all.

It was as though it had transformed in one night. The empty, blank room was now filled with floating Black and White brain-bots, whizzing to and fro as they prepared for something she had yet to figure out. Where the metal cylinder had stood in the center before, a strange machine hummed and glowed, composed of several interlinking arms and at the very center, a strange, ball-shaped device no taller than her knees. In the midst of it all, in the choppy, flickering light up a few under-the-floor-panels fans, stood Megamind. His back was turned to her, playing with some controls on the weird ball-device. He was wearing the Black Mamba 2.0, an outfit she'd once heard him swear he would never put on for any reason other than nostalgia.

"This...is...Megamind, what's going on here? What are you doing?" Roxanne moved closer to the center of the room, spinning around as three brain-bots rushed past her. "What is that thing?"

Megamind stopped moving for a second, and turned around briskly to walk over to another set of monitors. "It's a beacon," he said resolutely. "I started building it a long time ago. It's taken me a long time to complete it, because I couldn't risk destroying any of the data on the pod's onboard computer."

"The—I'm sorry, the what?" She had to reel in her confusion for a moment, because no matter how important this all seemed, she could sense that it was all leading somewhere very horrible. "Megamind, please talk to me. What are you planning on doing?"

"That is the safety pod my parents placed me inside when I was a baby," he went on to explain, pointing nonchalantly at the ball-device in the center. "That's what I was in when I crash-landed inside Metro City Prison. Oh, and it's also what Smiley man wants most on this entire planet, other than my negotiable demiss."

_Demise. _"That?" she asked. "Your _baby_ pod? What could he possible want that for?" Just for now, she had to push down her feelings. Where was all this news coming from? What happened last night to make him change so much? "Can you just _stop_ for one second and look at me?"

Minion was on the other side of the device, keeping meekly to himself whilst the parents fought. The sound of an engine powering up under their feet kicked in, along with the numerous fans starting to spin faster, kicking up a wind that made Roxanne cough as dust flew into her face.

"Roxanne," she heard him say, and opened her eyes to find him standing just across from her. "I've put a lot of thought into it. Why I can't seem to tell you how I feel."

Ice cold snow fluttered over her heart. No one who said something like _that_ could ever mean well. Even her arms felt numb. "Before you say or do anything, just give me a chance to explain—"

"There was a woman at the museum last night, before I began my search for the Smiley man," he interrupted dispassionately. "True, she might be dangerously and perhaps even criminally insane, but she at least made me reflect on something important. And please excuse the irony when I say this, but I've been over-thinking this entire...'us'...thing."

"Megamind—"

"I _can't_ tell you how I feel," he said. "I can't, because I _don't_ feel."

No. _That's not true_. _I've known him far too long to believe that_. That was generally what was going through her mind as her heart raced, but in one language or another, his expression read another thing.

"I don't feel," he repeated, backing away slowly. "Anything," he added sadly, and his hand descended on a lever on the beacon device. "For you."

Gears in her heart and gears under the floor were grating to painful life, awakening like a dragon under a cage of glass. The moment the lever stuck, the floor around her began to shift, split apart and transform. Roxanne stumbled back towards the edge of the room and grabbed on to the edge of the door to steady herself, watching with wide, shocked eyes while metal walls closed around the so-called beacon. The fans erupted from beneath the grates below, folding up to the underside of the construction that was taking place. And through the metal monstrosity that was growing out of the lair's innards, she also watched Megamind's pain-twisted face as it was swallowed inside the newly formed vessel.

And with a deafening roar and shattering of the dome's glass—or maybe it was the pieces of her heart—the dark, spiked airship rose into the sky and vanished into a cloud of black smoke.


	9. Tower Trap Part 2

_**Being the Hero**_

_**

* * *

**_

AN: Neener neener neeeeenerrr...thhhhhppppt! No, seriously, if you can't guess Mr. WalMart logo's identity after this, then I've done my job too well.

* * *

_Chapter Nine: Tower Trap (Part 2)_

_

* * *

_

The sound of coughing returned Roxanne to the world inside the broken dome, and through the veil of smog that filled the lair's topmost part, Minion's unmistakable shape emerged as he waved his hand over the filters on his suit. Wheezing, he stepped up to the center of the platform and gave her an apologetic look.

"Yeah, he left me behind," he said with extreme disapproval of said fact. "It's not like I expected him to take me along since he's got this utterly absurd idea that he's going on a suicide mission," he added with genuine concern pinching his face. "He...doesn't want to get you involved."

"I know. I was getting that vibe," she responded, but the heaviness in her chest didn't disappear. He had looked so _convinced_ when he said it. Did he think the photo setup was some kind of escape from sharing the real problem? "Minion, just what is he planning on doing?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think he's going to lure the Smiley man out using the beacon. And if that fails, he's rigged the building he's going to use as bait with a _lot_ of explosives. He's having one of his thorough days."

"Great, another plan that involves blowing something up. So what _is_ the beacon?" That question was bothering her the most. The part of her mind that had been buzzing in the background suddenly clicked into place. "Don't tell me it has something to do with...oh, I don't believe it. I'm so stupid—how could I not see this?"

"Originally, it was just an idea...that maybe...we could..." Minion glanced down, then back up. "Ever since we were little, we always wondered if there were...others out there."

Roxanne shook her head. "Oh, Minion, I'm so sor—"

"Can it, sister!" shouted a feminine voice from behind her back. Roxanne did the first thing that came to her mind and seized the last remaining Black and White brain-bot that had been floating next to her, and pointed it at the source of the voice.

A short, bookish kind of woman stood in open, somewhat twisted door of the former dome with Megamind's dehydration ray—or some variation of it—in her hands. The glowing end of the gun was pointing straight at Roxanne. Five inches away from the weapon, strapped to the woman's wrist, was none other than the holo-generator watch that had gone missing from the lair. There was a crazy look in the intruder's eyes.

"I knew I'd find this place completely unguarded. Is this Megamind really that predictable, that he'd take _all_ of his remaining minions with him—oops, sorry, didn't see you there—and leave you two behind for the taking?" The bookish woman brushed a wild strand of hair out of her face. "My master was right about you people. You're pathetic _and_ useless."

"Who are you and what do you want?" demanded Roxanne, holding the brain-bot in her arms like a shotgun, despite having _no_ idea if the little mechanoid would fire its lasers if she needed it to.

"It doesn't matter what _I _want_," _the other woman replied, cautiously stepping towards them. As she spoke, she circled around and kept her back facing the outer dome until she was standing in the middle of the abandoned, shattered platform. "I'm just here to collect one more thing to complete Phase Three. You're Roxanne Ritchi, aren't you?"

"No." Roxanne spoke with an intentionally syrupy tone of voice. "I'm Megamind's girlfriend. Any other stupid questions?"

"And you," the bookish woman said, her face visibly lighting up as she turned the dehydration on Minion. "You must be the minion. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time."

Minion casually glanced over his furry shoulder at Roxanne, who just rolled her eyes and kept the brain-bot pointed at their enemy, "M-Me?" the henchman asked tentatively, pointing at himself with a finger. "Why me?"

"Curiosity, mostly," was the snide response. "From one mindlessly devoted sidekick to another, you really should have predicted this happening from the get-go. It's our job to protect them from themselves, after all. If I were Megamind, I'd fire you."

"Themselves? Themselves who, exactly?"

Minion's innocent question went unanswered for the moment, because Roxanne chose this time to release the Black and White brain-bot in her arms. It launched at the bookish-looking woman like an arrow from a taut string, using its claws to seize both of her arms. She fired a shot that went wild, and growled as the bot's ironclad grip remained fast. Locked with the robot, the woman stumbled backwards onto the platform and lost her hold on the dehydrater. At the same time, the brain-bot's claws slipped forward and accidentally crushed the holofigure generator watch strapped to her arm.

The artificially generated holo-body of the woman shimmered and vanished as she flung her arms out to either side—the bot went spinning out of control, finally letting her go. Suddenly, standing before Minion and Roxanne was not a meek, though hotheaded museum curator, but a silvery-white mechanical robotic suit.

And at the top of the glistening, well-armored, smoothly curved torso of the suit was a glass tank. Inside that glass tank was a pale yellow fish. With large eyes, a long tail, and softly glowing pink fins.

Minion stared at her in a dumbstruck fashion, his left eye twitching slightly.

"Now look what you've done!" cried the other fish minion, her face contorting angrily as she bumped up against the front of her tank. Her robotic arm swung around to point at him accusingly. "Do you have any idea how much I'll be blamed for this? This wasn't supposed to happen! I hope you're happy with yourself, you inferior little twit!"

With a scowl of outrage, the enemy minion launched herself into the air and turned on the near-silent jets built into her armor. She threw one last frustrated scoff in their direction before twisting around and rocketing away at a remarkable speed.

Roxanne watched in dubious confusion as the silvery figure was engulfed into the black cloud overhead. A full minute later, she found it was possible to close her mouth. "Uhhhh," she said slowly, too brain-frazzled in order to coherently put her reaction in words. Instead, she looked at Minion with wide eyes. "That...she...wow...Minion, are you okay?"

"She was beautiful," the overwhelmed, zombie-like fish replied in a state of trance.

"Right." Roxanne patted his furred shoulder gently. "You're fine. So am I. For the record, I think your beacon worked, don't you?"

That seemed to snap him out of it. Minion jolted with a metal clank. "We need to leave, right now. There's sort of a...bomb headed right for us."

"_Minion!"_

"Just saying, it might be worth mentioning!" he added defensively.

"How about mentioning it _sooner_?" she barked at him, and out the corner of her eye she spotted the glint of something coming out of the ebony clouds. "It's too late now, jump onto—"

That was all she said when something hit the platform with a deafening metal gong, and a near invisible concussive wave hit her front behind. She saw the floor rushing up to meet her, and then the blackness of the sky blended into her unconsciousness.

* * *

The sky was gloriously dark, blotted out with his cloud-generator and Megamind was dutifully keeping himself distracted by thinking of all the ways he would have his brain-bots 'treat' the mayor when this was done. But first, he had to face this villain. He had to make sure he didn't lose the faith and trust of the entire city.

The ship was hiding amongst the clouds, and with it, his secret army. Or what was left of it. The beacon was practically screaming out its location. Megamind had no doubt at all that the one looking for it, this Smiley man, knew what it was and was going to come for it. He thought he would just have to wait, expecting a somewhat mediocre entrance and ensnare the enemy in his trap.

But atop this building, waiting, a good ten minutes passed whilst no one came. He was just beginning to think that he could have been wrong about the half-baked villain, but sure enough, he arrived.

Somehow, he wasn't surprised when _more_ than one arrived. Nor could he feign shock when he saw that the black-suited figures and their bright yellow masks were being carried by brain-bots. One after another, they were deposited on the broad rooftop of the sixty-five story building, until there were no less than ten supposed 'Smileys' standing in front of him.

Megamind started to open his mouth to deliver a well-rehearsed speech, when two more unfamiliar brain-bots swooped overhead and dropped several items, the first of which touched the ground and exploded at his feet.

"Agh, my eyebrows!" Megamind tried shielding his face, but the flash of heat was redoubled by two more bangs and forceful blows that tossed him back and forth, trying to avoid the disorienting explosives. "You singed my eyebrows! Why did you _do_ that?"

"Today is the day, Megamind," said the Smiley man's tinny voice from the mask of the nearest mind-controlled henchman, ignoring his angry outburst. Two more citizens dressed up as the inceasingly unfunny villain appeared, carried down by two brain-bots who then promptly flew off. "Today is the day. The day where it becomes apparent that you care more about battling me then you do about these...'citizens' of this ludicrous city. I will admit that I was worried for a while. Then, from that moment you refused to give yourself up for the safety of the city, I knew that you were as tired as this self-destructive charade as I."

Hardening his face, the blue-skinned so-called hero threw his cape behind him and pointed at the 'Smiley' who had spoken. "Ha. Ha, ha, ha! You really _do _believe you can outmaneuver me. Ha!" he laughed shortly. "You can steal my gadgets and take unfair advantage of my unrivaled brilliance, but there is _one_ thing you forgot to count on when you picked a fight with me: Megamind! The master of all that was...formerly evil and...still quite deceiving!" He paused. "Deceiving...for the good of Metrocity!"

He raised one arm in the air in front of him, which he then lowered. "Brain-bots!"

From the dark, billowing clouds overhead descended a hundred or more blue-and-red brain-bots, combined with the slightly larger Black and Whites. Forming a swirling, chomping pattern, they circled the top of the building and began to assault the gathering of false Smileys. One by one, they latched onto and then removed the mask of the people surrounding him. His own personal army of robots made quick work of the disguises.

Only to leave a dozen dazed, confused citizens of Metro City standing with him on the rooftop, each with their own mind-control device. One or two of them keeled forward and hit the ground in an unconscious slump

"_What_?" yelled Megamind.

"It's not over yet," said one of the masks in his as it passed by his ear. Megamind's blood felt ice cold upon the realization that his brain-bots were not acting _for_ him, but on the order of someone else entirely. When he dared a look at the nearest brain-bot, he spotted a control device. In fact, _every single_ robot that circled the tower had a squarish, blue-glowing control device attached to it.

"I'm doing this for you own good," the voice said again. "Even if you've been brainwashed by these primitive city monkeys, I _will_ make sure you come to your senses. This city doesn't want you! This city doesn't even _need_ you, Megamind. You're just a convenient replacement to them—at the slightest sign of betrayal, they _will_ turn against you!"

The mask and the brain-bot carrying continued to buzz around his head whilst he stared, blank-faced and bewildered at the vulgarity of the tide of all events, slowly turning against him and his defenselessness.

"If you don't believe me, Megamind—behold!" said the voice inside the mask.

It seemed like a rush of wind struck him the moment Megamind turned, not really seeing the extent of the chaos that was going to unfold. Brain-bots skimmed past him in a stream of blue, red, white and purple. Hundreds of them poured out of the clouds—_his_ brain-bots, now utterly out of his control—and fell upon the city around him like a plague of chomping locusts. There was such an eruption of panic as they started to wreck mayhem, overturning cars, knocking people over, carrying them into the air, dropping them and chasing them down the streets, it hurt just to watch it happen.

"Stop it!" he snapped, whirling on the brain-bot carrying the smiling mask. "What purpose could there _possibly_ be for making these people suffer? If you want to fight me, then fight _me_! _That_ is what being a supervillain is all about, or did you skip that part in the schhool of villainy? Your quarrel is with me, not them!"

"Then it just goes to show how little you know about evil, which is precisely the reason I came to liberate you from this flavourless prison," argued the sinister voice from the mask. "What yours is mine, and what I create, I create to perfection. My creations are designed to be only the best, and what you have shown me so far is at the most gratuitous description available, _sub-par_!"

"What does that even _mean_?" Megamind demanded with unrestrained frustration. "Tell me who you are! No more hiding behind that horribly tacky mask! You can bring me down, but you won't bring me down as a schlump who won't even show his face!"

Finally, the brain-bot began to move away, taking the grotesquely grinning mask with it. "You want to know who I am? It's a small consolation prize, to be sure. I'm right beneath you, Megamind. You can leave both the ship and the beacon to my...'brain-bots', I believe you call them? They're in good claws."

"Come to meet me, Megamind. Just one flight down, and we can talk. We have _so_ very much to discuss."


	10. Ornery Odds

**_Being a Hero_**

**_

* * *

_**

AN: This took a hellishly time because the next part of my job training involves typing. A lot. Of typing. Therefore, my fingers just don't wanna type at the end of the day.

At the risk of being predictable, this is the final showdown with Smiley as we know it. And really, isn't this something Dreamworks would do? No?

By the way, the next chapter will be kind of a tear-jerker. This is just to keep those getting BORED interested. Cheerio!

* * *

_Chapter Ten: Ornery Odds_

* * *

It was all so wrong. Going very, horribly wrong. His brain-bots were flawless; their one and only purpose was to obey every last one of his commands, right into the jaws of the most deadliest perils of all time! Megamind didn't know how his brain-bots had been captured the night before, or how they all managed to end up controlled by Smiley man in the short amount of time it took to hide them in his—_his—_signature doom clouds! However he was doing it, this man was a genius by means his own mind couldn't fathom. This realization was just...mind-boggling his mega-mind.

He had no time to dwell, because a swarm of red-and-blue brain-bots hovering over a nearby building suddenly exploded and scattered in all directions. Megamind shielding himself using an arm and part of his cape, and when he lowered them to look, he saw...

He saw a man flying towards him. Metroman? No, impossible—Metroman was retired now, not even the entire city at its very worst odds would ever—but no, it wasn't Metroman at all. The costume was all wrong; in fact, it was blue and silver rather than white. The design was utterly tacky beyond all means. And what was even worse was the face belonging to this new 'hero'. Megamind recognized it the instant the 'hero' shot overhead.

"Carson!" he yelled, much to his surprise and unexpected delight at having someone _clearly_ abusing the powers of his stolen Superpower Infuser Ray Gun appear. Mayor Carson flashed by again, dipping low to the streets and blasting another cloud of brain-bots with his laser vision. Megamind extended his hands as the new 'hero' drifted back up to the top of the building where he met his blue-skinned nemesis face-to-face.

"Completely disregarding the fact that you're behind the theft of my Infuser Ray Gun," Megamind started deliberately. "Not even going near the fact that you're trying to steal Roxanne from me—you have _no_ idea how happy I am to see you. The costume could use a little work, but that's not what we're here to discuss." He paused, looking up at the mayor suspiciously. "Why _are_ you here?"

"To save Metro City," came the steely reply.

"Hey, that's great! That's wonderful news!" Megamind laughed.

"From _you_, Megamule."

The ex-villain's face fell. "Oh." Then he had a painful look. "_Ohhhh._"

Mayor Carson's face formed a confident smirk as he hovered above the street, several feet over Megamind's head. "There's a certain balance of right and wrong," he said gruffly, throwing the remains of a blue brain-bot onto the rooftop, the force of which cause it to leave an impact. "That needs to be adjusted in this town. The clock of justice has stopped ticking, and I intend to fix it."

Despite everything else occurring, Megamind couldn't resist. "Really? Then why are you wasting 'time', Mayor? Come on, bring me, the hero of Metrocity to his knees! Make this so-called 'clock' chime on my reign as the greatest superhero ever to grace this side of the planet!"

"It's called Metro City," the 'hero shot back, cracking his knuckles. "The fact that you can't even pronounce it properly after all this time is proof enough—you don't care about this city or the citizens. You can't even bring yourself to care about Roxanne."

All desire to exchange banter vanished then, as if stolen by the wind. "You know that's a lie"

"Then why ever would she be _here_ instead of where she could be safe? Why isn't she with _you_?" The mayor pointed across the street towards another small flock of brain-bots. This time, a group of four Black and Whites were carrying a tied, bound and apparently consciously struggling Roxanne. The moment they came close enough for her to spot Megamind, she started to wriggled more and shouted his name, though it and several other frantic words (one of which he swore was 'Minion') were muffled by the gag.

"Roxie! You-" Megamind turned a seething glare on the mayor. "You're in _league_ with the Smiley man. Is that your idea of justice, Mayor—teaming up with the villain for your own, selfish designs?"

"That method seemed to work for Miss Ritchi, didn't it? Roxanne?"

Roxanne lifted her head and shouted an incoherent message back at the mayor. It was probably for the best that the gag was there to filter it out.

"Now, before I finish eradicating what's left of _your_ brain-bots terrorizing _my_ city," Carson went on, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "It's time to pay the necessary toll for the protection of the citizens."

The way he said it held motives that were so apparently unhealthy, that Roxanne's eyes widened and she shook her head in terror. "Nrrghph, nrrrrgph, Crrrsphhn!"

"My name is Gladius," he shot back, slowly descending towards the building. Megamind sensed this wasn't going to go well for him, and backed away a few, insignificant steps. "But at this moment, I'm just a delivery man."

As soon as he said it, 'Gladius' shot downwards and seized Megamind by the front of his cape, lifting him into the air with him as the blue-skinned mastermind grabbed the captivating fist in vain and struggled to get free. The citizens standing around the rooftop, having listened to the entire exchange without a single clue as to how or why they were present, scattered to the edges. A woman screamed as the mayor flew skywards for a dozen yards or so, turned around and dove straight down into the solid roof.

The concrete gave way and erupted, sending the pair of the down through a sizable hole and into the uppermost floor of the abandoned building. Hacking and coughing as the dust overwhelmed them, Megamind waved his hands in front of his face, trying to get a look at what was going on around him. He was immediately aware that there were dozens of glowing red eyes on all sides, indicating an irrational number of brain-bots with their own arsenal of sharp teeth and claws.

"Greetings, Mayor Carson. How nice of you to—please, excuse the cliche—drop in," a voice said from somewhere amidst the gathered minions. It was exactly the same as the one inside the Smiley masks, only it had lost its tinny effect. Somehow, the voice disturbed Megamind on a whole new level. Besides the fact that he was being manhandled by someone who could easily break him in half, he hadn't really felt _really_ disturbed until that voice hit his ears unfiltered for the first time ever.

Behind them, the captive brain-bots lowered Roxanne into the room and into the midst of the waiting armada. Mayor Carson set Megamind down with a bewildering gentleness as finally, a figure in a yellow cape and cruelly twisted smiling mask appeared from the musty darkness of the room.

"I am the real 'Smiley' man," said the Smiley man, pacing to his right as the expressionless eyes of the mask glanced them over. "It's only a persona I adopted recently. Most other villain names had been trademarked...much to my chargin."

"Chagrin," Megamind corrected without thinking. Well, that felt odd.

"Indeed." Smiley man stopped pacing, and then beckoned with a slender, gloved finger at the brain-bots. "You can bring the female over here, little ones. She is going to play an in_**teg**_ral role in the next phase of my—excuse me, _our_ plan."

"It's '_**in**_tegral'," Mayor Carson corrected this time, and Megamind risked a glance behind him to see that the mayor's face was twisted by skeptical confusion. "And that's not part of the bargain. Roxanne goes free. I've proved that Megamope doesn't feel anything for her. That was our deal."

"Unfortunately, the most troubling obstacle I've had to overcome begs the difference," said a clearly unamused Smiley man. If the mask could frown, it would have, ironically. "If it weren't for his 'feelings' for this woman, I wouldn't have had to don this ridiculous disguise and play this game. I will admit, however—it has been quite fun."

"Roxanne goes _free_," growled the mayor, stepping forward. Several of the brain-bots sprung to the masked villain's defense, making a wall between him and their 'master'. "As does this city. If you refuse to comply, I'll be forced to take down _two_ supervillains today instead of just one."

"Ha!" barked the Smiley man. "I'm afraid I could not hear you, 'Gladius', over the sound of the citizens of this city screaming in terror. In fact, if I'm correct, there is an entire building filled with orphans down the street surrounding by these ingenious little robotic minions."

The latex of the mayor's suit creaked as he balled a fist tightly in front of him. "This was a setup all along. You want the city for yourself."

"The city would be a decent start, yes. I feel disinclined to care what you do now. I would hurry—these brain-bots don't discriminate. And these children are the perfect targets; the smallest ones don't even run that fast."

Carson growled angrily as the entire building trembled under the force of his rage. Then, without another word, he launched himself into the air and crashed through the ceiling a second time. Megamind managed to jump forward just in time before a chunk of debris smashed into the floor where he had been standing.

An uncomfortable pause occurred between the opposing sides still inside the building. Now with the gloomy light of Megamind's cloud of doom cast down on them from above, it was easier to see everything in clearer detail. There was actually not much more to see, other than the full extent of the brain-bots and the sparkling veneer Smiley's mask.

"It's taken a long time to get this far," said the masked villain, lacing his fingers together. "True, I was forced to act out against you, Megamind, when my only intent was force some sense into the gifted brain. In some cases, I improvised. Irrelevant now, since we're both here and I can at last speak to you face-to-face without all these pawns and minions getting in the way."

"How loosely you use that term; it may come as a shock to you, but this big blue mug _isn't_ a mask," Megamind shot back. "They've tried to replicate its charming sophistication and failed miserably, might I add."

"Mphhgamgpht!" scolded Roxanne, struggling in her bonds.

"Right. Sorry. As I was saying, if you knew anything about being a supervillain, you'd realize that that _only true_ element is presentation! Which leaves you falling short at the level of an ordinary, everyday villain. Which means, _you_'_ve_ already lost. There will always be one hero and/or supervillain of Metrocity, and that is Megamind!"

Smiley man stepped forward as the brain-bots slowly began to float in circles around them. "You speak as though you miss the old life, Megamind. Don't deny it; it is only natural, considering it _is_ your heritage. Your _birthright_. You don't know what it is your mother and father worked so hard to create."

"How could anyone possibly know what my parents wanted? My mother and father died a _long_ time ago, when I was an adorable baby!" Megamind said angrily, pointing at the masked villain.

"Wrong, Megamind," said the 'Smiley' man, putting a hand on his wrist. The image of the smiling mask and in fact, the entire yellow ensemble wavered and melted away. "I _am_ your father."

And on the topmost floor of a building rigged with a thousand pounds of dynamite and other explosives—standing in the center of a swirling mass of red, purple and blue robotic minions, was a being with a large, blue head that Megamind had not seen for twenty-six years, nine months and eighteen days.

Dad.


	11. Meaningful Moment

_**Being the Hero**_

_**

* * *

**_

AN: Like I promised, this chapter does a dance with the humour and the drama genres. Then it sleeps with one, forgets to call the other and somehow ends up engaged to Suspense after waking up naked next to a perverted Melodrama wearing a yellow tutu. Oh, and Romance is making pancakes in the kitchen wearing an apron embroidered by Fluff and Tragedy.

Baby steps. Itty bitty baby steps. My weekend is Wednesday and Thursday, so maybe I'll have a chunk load more done for you by then. You know, the stuff involving the other characters in this story. Also, you're going to get cliches in this story. It's a superhero/villain story. I want the cliches. The whole story's been a cliche. Zebras may not change their spots. Or polka dots. Whatever.

And yes. Yes, another cliffhanger. Stop not expecting them.

* * *

_Chapter Eleven: Meaningful Moment_

* * *

Only Metroman was capable of making time stand still. Of this, Megamind was sure. He'd tried making a time alteration device once, but only succeeded in making a glorified electronic calendar.

Right now, however, he swore that he somehow mastered the art of freezing the moment. At least until the volcano of questions frothed to the surface. "_Dad_?" he said over top of the quieted chomping sounds of the brain-bots. "You can't really be—I remember you—I can't believe you're actually—alive?"

"I managed to escape the black hole with my own minion, but...only barely," said the de-masked Smiley. His face was clearly much older, and his large blue head seemed somewhat spotted by age, but there was no mistaking the striking resemblances.

Roxanne had finally managed to work the gag out of her mouth at this point. "Can someone please explain what's going on?" she demanded. Not surprisingly at all, she didn't look at Megamind. "Just _who_ are you? 'Dad' is a bit vague for some more indirect members of this conversation."

"My real name is Vexus," was his darkened reply. "Supreme Overlord of the Mind Manipulation department of evil sciences. That is far more than an barbaric, nosy girl such as you needs to know."

"Supreme Overlord...of evil sciences?" Megamind was shock full of bone-deep confusion. "But if you're evil...was Mom evil? Was our entire planet _evil_?"

"You probably don't remember much from your brief childhood with us. There was no place in this galaxy more bent on universal domination than home." There was something wistful in Vexus' voice, but it vanished as smoothly as it came. "Your mother was the most despicable genius of us all. Her brilliant experiments with DNA mutation gave us our minions. Your Minion."

"So...being bad wasn't even a choice?" This was not so much the question it sounded like than a statement. Megamind had already given up the idea that he could maintain his status as 'the good guy'. Even if he wanted it with every ounce of his heart, even before discovering this...this _crazy_ news about his father and galactic domination, he'd never been able to break a single evil habit of his.

Now he supposed he knew why.

"Son, I sent you to this world to fulfill your destiny," said Vexus, holding out a demonstrative hand. Like Megamind, he wore a blue-and-black cape, only it was made of some type of reflective plastic material that seemed to suck the very light out of the surrounding area, giving it a glow of darkness. "When I learned about all of your monstrous battles against that Glamdow quadrant show-off, I _knew_ you had achieved greatness."

Megamind had started to smile at the praise, but the smile quickly fell. "'Had' achieved," he said. "Let me guess, becoming the hero of Metro City didn't quite meet your standards for the perfect son."

Vexus' returned expression said everything. "No," he replied. "But don't worry, Megamind. I don't blame you for losing your way, I blame her. The Seductress."

"Giant blue head or not, I'd _still_ say you two are definitely related."

"Silence!" barked Vexus. Roxanne merely rolled her eyes at him.

"I understand now." Megamind was reflecting on the events of the past few days. "You were able to get past my brain-bots, and even access the most closely guarded secrets of my lair because they thought _you_ were _me_. But why? Why all this secrecy, and for the sake of all that is unholy, _why_ Smiley?"

Vexus frowned a small frown of embarrassment. "It was...the only name I could trademark, actually."

Megamind drew in a deep breath and steeled himself, because he knew in his heart of hearts that if he didn't convince his father that being Metrocity's—Metro City's—hero was the best thing to happen to him, then how could he ever expect to convince himself? "Dad, I know you had other expectations for me in my life. And I really do appreciate you coming here to check up on me, I do—I would recommend calling first, next time—but my days of villainy are behind me now. Roxanne and I—"

"Roxanne and I, Roxanne and I," drawled Vexus, swatting aside a brain-bot to step forward. He clenched a fist in front of him. "Really, son, how could you even begin to suspect someone who looks like _her_ could be with someone who looks _and thinks_ like you." Now the expression on his face darkened, appearing far more evil than it had before and a little too similar to the darkness in the Smiley mask. "We may have our similarities, Megamind, but don't be fooled by this silly fling. These people are little more than drones, driven by a single thought at a time. That is what makes _us_ superior."

"The people of this city—sorry, this _planet, _are _not _drones," said Megamind. "Mundane little creatures of habit they may be, but if there's anything I've learned about humanity, it's that their simple-mindedness makes _them_ superior to _me," _ he added, then when he realized what he was saying, said, "In some ways, of course; little ways that sort of...accumulate to make a whole, stronger...superiority thing. The point is, this city _needs_ a hero. They need Megamind, defender of Metro City."

"Your people need you," his father corrected. "Together, you and I, we can take your ship _and_ the beacon to our colony—and return with the force of our combined intellects to take over this measly excuse for a planet. You don't understand, son—_this_ could be our _home_."

Megamind was staring at Vexus in disbelief. He had sometimes thought that maybe, perchance his parents had felt the same way he had about turning evil, but this was going utterly beyond the boundaries of reason. He shook his head lightly. "No, _you_ don't understand," he said. "I _am_ home."

For a brief moment, there could have been a twinge of hurt on Vexus' face. But like most of his other emotions, it didn't last longer than a split second. He dropped his arms to his sides and stared coldly at his son. "Part of me always thought you would be beyond my help," he said at last. "No matter. Persuading you to join me was only half the battle. I have what I lured you here for: that ship and the beacon that will guide me home. If you won't do what's best for your family, then I have no choice but to sacrifice my mine."

As Megamind's jaw dropped open and he began to say something, a wall of brain-bots suddenly gathered and rose around Vexus. He was lifted with them, curtained by their multi-coloured bodies and sharpened razors and teeth. "I have to thank you, 'Megamind'," he said over the clamor of the robotic minions. "This exit would not nearly be as dramatic had you not lined this entire building with those high grade explosives. You just forgot to add one of these."

From the midst of the swirling, chomping bots, came sailing a square device with a red digital clock on its face. Roxanne, who had since been dropped by her guard-bots and gone to Megamind's side, caught the device in her hands. It read: 1:30. 1:29. 1:28.

"I'm sorry, son, but it seems we're _both _out of time. You'll have to live with the choice you've made—for as long as you can, anyway." Vexus laughed a cold, chilling laugh as his shrouded figure was carried by a dozen brain-bot claws outwards and through the gaping hole in the ceiling.

Face contorting with anger, Megamind grabbed Roxanne's wrist and began to pull her towards the crumbling staircase that led to the roof access. Almost sliding off the broken stairs as they broke apart under their weight, he was able to right himself and lunge through the metal door just in time to witness his father being lifted into the sky towards the large, spiked spaceship Megamind himself had left to idle not too long ago. Naturally, the brain-bots he left in charge could no longer be told apart from the ones under Vexus' control.

At least the citizens who had been on the roof were gone. Probably slipped down the staircase and fled the building some time ago. That was a small amount of relief. Oddly.

"He's getting away! Dang it, Megamind, why did you have to bring the stupid spaceship? Why can't you just do something a _little_ low-key for once?"

There were more pressing concerns, such as being trapped on the roof of a building literally 0:55 seconds away from becoming a pile of rubble and a memory. Oh, and the sound of anywhere from five hundred to a thousand more brain-bots swarming into the building not too far below them. There was no purpose for that other than the strikingly obvious—to destroy as many brain-bots as Vexus could in fell swoop, now that he clearly intended to leave the planet on the stolen ship.

0:49.

Megamind wished briefly that Minion was here to help him focus—but he did the only thing he could think of. He put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. Then waited. For about three seconds. Scanning the sky intently for a sign, any sign at all for some brain-bots that were still under his control, his heart just scarcely lifted for the briefest of all moments when a purple brain-bot came sailing toward him from the streets below.

"That's _it_?" said Megamind, his eyes darting between the distant clouds of brain-bots who were clearly not responding. "_One_ brain-bot, that's all that's left out of an entire _legion_?"

The ultra-violet brain-bot swiveled its eyestalk away as it hovered in front of them, as if ashamed of that fact. Panic and indecision were running rampant inside of Megamind, causing him to wish desperately that he'd remembered to fix the rocket gear. Or maybe built a few extra brain-bots for emergencies.

He knew what he _had_ to do, but he wasn't completely sure he was ready for that. He glanced down at the small clock in Roxanne's hands.

0:35.

"Uhhh, Megamind, not to rush you into making any crazy last-minute save-your-own-skin ideas, but I think we're running out of time," said Roxanne. Sure enough, the sound of the rogue brain-bots swarming up from the empty lower levels of the building was growing louder still. 0:31. 0:30. 0:29.

_So this is it, Megamind_, he thought, feeling the skin crawl on the back of his neck. _Terrible, gruesome death by the claws of your own creations, falling to your own doom, or being blown up in a fiery inferno of evil. Maybe even all three at once. Ooh, fun._

But at least he didn't have to watch Roxie suffer that same fate. This was _his_ last, glorious failure. Somehow, he suspected Roxanne was meant to live to make a lot of _good_ decisions that he never would be able to.

"Roxanne," he said quickly, swiftly grabbing her shoulders. Clearly startled, she stared blankly and scrunched her brow in that adorable little way when she was listening defiantly. "Listen carefully. A single brain-bot can't carry us both to safety. _You_ need to find Minion, and together—"

"_Oh_, no. I don't think so, you're not—"

0:21.

"Vexus wasn't right, nor was he wrong about me," he interrupted and searched her eyes with his. "I mean it. Evil or good, villain or hero—there's only _one_ thing I want you to think of when you remember me."

0:15.

Under their feet the ground was trembling with the force of a thousand brain-bots bubbling through concrete and plaster to reach them. Megamind shot a glare at the ultra-violet brain-bot, which shot towards Roxanne and latched its long arms and claws around her torso. Roxanne swatted and struggled against it as it began to lift her off the ground. "Let go of me! Megamind! Megamind, you self-inflated, giant-headed-"

Every one of her insults was stolen by a kiss delivered by Megamind. It was a long kiss, living in a world where nothing else existed but him and her. But then, sometime after the clock ticked down to 0:05 and hung loosely in her hand, their lips and faces parted when Roxanne was carried higher into the air by the only buzzing creation of his that still obeyed him.

"I love you, Roxanne Ritchi," he said at last, watching her go wistfully.

Orange, red and black clouds of flame and smoke exploded from the base of the skyscraper. Like a sequence from a movie gone horribly over budget, multiple explosions erupted from the second, third, fifth, tenth floor as thick, dark smoke billowed out in the shape of the ultimate supervillain's cape around the crumbling building. The shockwave shattered all of the glass on the tower at once, drowning out anything she might have been thinking while a petrified Roxanne witnessed the roof of the building buckle in half. As the structure began to collapse, she could do nothing but watch his smiling face vanish into the cloak of blackness and fire. Then he was swallowed. Gone.

The countdown device in her hand blinked red and the digits 0:00 repeatedly broadcast the same message. Time was up. _Her_ time was up. She'd wasted it all and now the timer had run out.

The clock slipped from her slackened grip and fell, gracefully spinning, into the rolling clouds of dust and smoke below.


	12. Inconvenient Impediment

_**Being the Hero**_

* * *

AN: Actually, this story isn't abandoned. Basically, to made a sad, puppies nailed to the wall story short, I moved from training at work...to the real deal at work. Now I spend 10 hours a day in a combination of commuting and working to pay off debts and stuff. Boring crappy adult crap milkshakes. That and I lost my Megamind inspiration; please blame Dreamworks for not releasing Megamind on DVD fast enough. Trust me, it'd make a huge difference.

This tiny chapter is a promise that, even if it takes a while, this story will get completed. Yes, it's a cliffhanger. Starting sentence 1 in chapter thirteen, you get the answer to a-many character's fates. Gosh darn I'm so nice.

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: Inconvenient Impediment_

_

* * *

_

The ultra-violet brain-bot carried her down through the buildings of the city, buzzing loudly in her ear with the effort of single-clawedly supporting her 110 pounds of weight. As soon as her feet touched the ground, the spent little robot let go and clattered to the ground with a last, stubborn 'chomp!' and began to recharge.

She was several blocks from the pile of burning rubble that had been the abandoned skyscraper. Too numb to think about how many spectators might have been killed under the falling debris, too shocked to really grasp what had just happened, Roxanne stood in the empty street with her glassy eyes trained on the monstrous pillar of smoke high overhead.

Somehow, it was impossible to _not_ think. Thinking was the last thing she wanted to do, yet all she could do was ask herself again and again: _Why?_

"What a mess," said a bored voice from across the street. It was enough to jolt her to her senses. She whirled around to see a _very_ familiar face approaching her with an apathetic gait.

Roxanne dared to think for a moment that this was _his_, but that was obviously impossible. No, this wasn't Megamind in disguise, so it must have been-

"Bernard?"

"I suppose this is what I get for trying to make the city a better place," said Bernard, _the_ original Bernard whom she hadn't even thought about since the night in Metroman's museum. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he spoke. "Trusting a rookie to do the job of a real supervillain. Really, what was I thinking?"

"What...what are you talking about?" she snapped. Of all places for him to show up, of all times, why now? "Wait, are you saying..._you_ were behind this?"

"That would need some clarification," he drawled, then sighed. "Actually, I hired the Smiley man in order to procure some of Megamind's technology for my client. I'm sure you can guess who that was. I needed to put everything back to normal before I took over as mayor."

He read her expression and rolled his eyes. "No, no—let me guess. Megamind was still in the building when it collapsed. What a cliche way to die, really. Now the city won't have a supervillain to keep the balance between good and evil."

Everything came on instinct for Roxanne: running forward, drawing her hand back and slapping him across the cheek with what little strength remained. Then she grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "_That's_ what you care about? You allowed a madman to take over this city just so you could get a _promotion_? This isn't a comic book, Bernard! You, you're the reason Megamind did _this," _she said, throwing an arm out at the ruins a dozen blocks away. "All because _he_ cared more about protecting this city than you or that stupid man Carson ever could!"

"The city?" he replied with a snort as he brushed her away. "Don't be so modest, Miss Ritchi. _No_ supervillain becomes a superhero overnight just because he 'miraculously' sees the error of his ways. I should know; I literally _wrote_ the book on Megamind."

"Then you need to check your sources," she replied darkly as she clenched her hands into fists. "Because that _Smiley_ villain you think is so _completely _insignificant was just handed the keys to planet Earth on silver platter. Now the only person even remotely capable of stopping that from happening is dead," she added as her voice choked. She shoved him three times, adding for emphasis, "And it's all—your-fault!"

"I would be careful if I were you, Roxanne," Bernard told her as he stepped back and straightened his jacket and tie. "Unless you intend to take Megamind's place in jail. This city has a hero; _I_ made sure of that. I drove all the way out here when I saw the building collapse, in an honest effort to give you my condolences, but I suppose that was just a waste of time. Once you're done grieving, however, feel free to stop by my office. I could always use a secretary."

"You selfish, self-serving, egotistical little bast-"

"Ah, ah, ah," he said, after turning around again to face her. He had begun to walk back to where his limousine waited, but he stopped briefly enough to wag a finger at her. Four brain-bots hovered down towards them, chomping menacingly as the took up positions on either side of him. "It's really very simple, Miss Ritchi. I'm going to go reassure the citizens of Metro City that their _real_ hero has the situation under control. Go home and take a nap. Losing your job and your boyfriend in one day; it must be exhausting."

The sting was so deep it left Roxanne standing numbly in the middle of the abandoned street with fresh tears warming her cheeks, long after Bernard's entourage had left. With the reflection of the burning rubble on her eye, she turned around to look at the collapsed tower where he life had come to a gear-grinding halt.

* * *

Minion woke slowly from a pool of darkness, and immediately became aware that he was no longer inside his suit. Coming out of the tingly sensation of unconsciousness, he wriggled to the surface of the odd metal basin where he was being held captive and peered over the edge of his prison. "Helloooo?"

Something shiny and metal came out of nowhere and he managed to duck under the water to avoid being slapped. "Hey!' he gasped as he leaped out of the water and dove back in, hopping around a few times. Now he saw _her_, the fish-minion female in her fantastically dazzling polished suit of space metal leering down at him.

From inside the ship.

Megamind's ship. With no Megamind in sight.

"Wh-wha-what—where's my boss?" he demanded, scowling at the other minion. "You can take my suit away, but you can't take my pride! I'll bite a hole in that tacky hunk of scrap you call a suit if you so much as lay a fin or finger on him or Miss Ritchie!"

From inside the cerulean-lit sphere of water in the enemy minion's suit, the slender alien fish immediately looked...softer? A second ago, she was trying to slap him across the spaceship, now she had the same guilty expression he saw on Megamind's face when he was working on projects that bordered Minion's own ethical boundaries.

"Wh-what...where is he?" Minion asked again, his blood running cold. Well, it was technically always cold, but now it was icy and weird.

"Megamind is dead, Minion. I'm afraid it came down to one last, wrong decision," said a familiar voice, one he remembered being much warmer, much less cynical since the last time he'd heard it. From behind the female minion-fish stepped someone he hadn't seen in a long, long time.

"You!" he snapped, ramming up against the edge of the basin. "You're his dad! You're behind all this! I should have known the moment I laid eyes on your temptress she-demon sidekick!" And all at once, the words spoken by Megamind's father sunk into Minion's brain. "Megamind's...dead?"

"For failing to live up to our expectations and choosing a local female pick-me-up over his own parents, yes. He's gone now, and you belong to me," came the reply from the slightly darker-skinned Megamind look-a-line. "I would have preferred it if he'd listened to me, but even without my son's help, this planet can still be ruled. And for that, the information in that teeny tiny brain of yours will come in most handy."

As the lunatic father spoke, he reached towards Minion with a gloved hand. "N-No!" Minion snapped, swimming backwards frantically. "I don't believe you! Megamind's not dead and you're not getting my mind! Hold on, boss! I'm coming!"

Minion leapt out of the water without putting a second thought towards a plan of escape, just narrowly slipping out of the gloved hand's grasp. He bounced off the edge of the basin and rolled across the metal floor a few times. He didn't waste a second, and wiggled his way away from the basic as fast as his mini-hops could, which wasn't far. However, he didn't need to go far—the ship suddenly pitched to one side, sending him rolling again towards a rather breezy section of the ship.

"What are you _doing_?" he heard Megamind's father shout, but who knew why? Who cared?

He couldn't fathom why. The cool breeze suddenly became a vacuum whirlwind and his little fish body was pulled straight out into the large opening that appeared in the wall.

Then Minion became a flying fish. A thousand feet above the ground. Falling straight to his doom, screaming the whole way.

There had to be a way out of this. Megamind never did anything without a backup plan!

But then he remembered. He wasn't with Megamind. He was alone. His boss was...gone. There was no plan B or C, no code 'fall back to the base' or 'use the brainbots to save us at the last minute'. He was just a fish, in mid-air, plummeting towards the skyscrapers and streets below. Just a minion without a master. Or a friend.

He felt the wind rush past his face and was glad that it helped dry the tears that were leaking from his eyes. There was always a last-second plan.

There was always a last-second plan. There was always a last-second plan. There was always...


	13. Necessary Nemesis

**_Being the Hero_**

AN: (cuddles with a pillow and relatively expensive but worthy copy of Megamind on Blu-Ray disc) Hissss...

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: Necessary Nemesis_

_

* * *

-  
_

Roxanne was panting for breath by the time she slowed down to a walk, and then doubled over to put her hand on her chest and wheeze. She had just run three whole blocks around the dusty debris with her single brain-bot guardian buzz-chomping around her head, but there was still no sign of life. No brain-bots, no people and most imporantly, no Megamind. She didn't want to find Megamind; she couldn't bear the thought of finding him amidst the rubble, even if the likelihood was very unrealistic. To be honest, she had no clue what she was looking for. Someone to help, maybe? The only things she could find were scattered pieces of broken brain-bots and shattered rubble. Finally, her lungs caught up with her racing heart and she looked up at her last little ally in the destroyed streets of downtown, Megamind's last mechanical minion.

"I don't know about you," she said with a gulp that was both exhausted and to force back a sob. "But I'm not ready to give up. Even if it's just you and me, we'll find a way to beat Vexus, won't we, little guy?"

The Black and White bot swiveled its eye stalk from side to side and did a little loop around her head. Suddenly, its eye snapped towards something overhead, and like a bat out of hell, it shot skywards. Roxanne watched it vanish with an open mouth.

After a few seconds, she folded over and slapped his hands on her thighs. "Ugh," she grunted in frustration. "Fine, I'll do this myself. I won't give up on this city as long as I'm still alive." With a shaky sigh, she added, "I know you wouldn't, Megamind."

Inhaling deeply, Roxanne stood up straight again. Was it just her imagination, or could she hear screaming? In fact, she heard the brain-bot's buzz-chomping _and_ screaming combined, growing steadily closer. She held up her hand to shield her eyes from the glint of the sun through the haze of dust, and saw two blobs descending from the sky in a wide arc. Eventually, the brain-bot that had left her just a minute ago swooped by and paused overhead. Stunned, she held out her hands as the floating robot released its two-pronged grip on its cargo and she caught it.

Minion plopped into her hands, apparently unaware of where he was with his eyes squinted shut so tightly. He was chanting in a panicky, hushed voice, "There's always a last-second plan, there's always a last-second plan, there's always a last-second plan-"

"Minon!" Roxanne snapped, to no effect. Holding the fish in one hand, she lightly slapped him a couple of times across his scaly face. "Snap out of it! You're okay!"

"Ahh! Ahhh!" The fish-out-of-water's response to that was to panic even more and start flopping around. She had to almost drop him a few times as she fought to get a grip on his slippery self.

Frustration reaching its apex, Roxanne finally shouted, "Code: stop squirming and get a hold of yourself already!"

Minion went still, blinking at her with wide eyes. "Roxanne? Is that you? You're alive! I'm alive? I'm alive, too! I-" Suddenly, he interrupted himself with a gasping sound that sounded far too real to be one of his overdramatizations. "-can't breathe! Not falling, good! No water, bad! Help?" The last part was actually more of a squeak than a word.

Frantically, Roxanne turned in a circle, searching for some source of water or a shop that might have a bathroom for her hyperventilating friend. Luckily, a fire hydrant on the wall of a still-standing building nearby had been burst open by falling debris, and it was causing a rather sizable pool to form in the broken pavement. She rushed over to the edge of the makeshift basin and dropped Minion into the foot or so of dirty water.

After a second, the fish burst from the surface with a wide-mouthed gasp and hopped a few times. "That was _too_ close! Just wait 'til I get my ape suit back, you overly glorified space goldfish!" he called into the sky without a whole lot of convincing effort.

Roxanne slowly knelt at the pool's edge and hugged her arms to her body, looking down sadly at Minion as her mind churned. She wouldn't be able to bring herself to say it out loud, that Megamind was...gone. How could she break it to his best friend when she couldn't even believe it herself?

"It...it's true, isn't it, Miss Ritchi?" Minion asked her instead. His 'lip' trembled a little. "Did he...did he...die?"

She closed here eyes and said nothing, silently hoping that would answer for her.

"Wh-Why are all of the brain-bots terrorizing the city?" he asked, obviously moving on to the next question so he didn't have to wait for a reply, and thus, face the truth. "Did they get a virus, or..." He gasped. "So they were being mind-controlled by Vexus! I knew there was a reason they disappeared!"

"How..."

Minion looked terribly sheepish, almost guiltily so. "I kind of had a run-in with Megamind's father on board the ship he stole, right before I...wait a second, how _did_ I escape from the ship? It's not supposed to crash _yet_..."

"Wait," Roxanne said bluntly, arriving to her senses when she heard that part. "What do you mean, it's not supposed to crash _yet_?"

In response, Minion dove bobbed under the water for a second and came up up again, only this time, he coughed loudly a few times and spat out a blue, glowing object that in all of its bizarreness reminded Roxanne of a _pacifier_. With a wrinkled nose, she picked it up off the broken concrete and looked it over in wonder. "A bit shiny to be a hairball, isn't it?" she asked, but her half-hearted attempt at humor was damp with the gloom in her heart.

"Actually, it's the energy source for the beacon, and the beacon powers the spaceship. Without it, it won't even get through the stratosphere. It's a hypochemistic valubadron singularity, an infinite supply of the universe's cleanest energy! It's also one hundred percent non-toxic _and _machine washable."

"So you _swallowed_ it?"

"Well, Megamind-" Minion stopped in mid-sentence and drooped his fins, sighing in a broken-hearted way. "As a last resort to stop him from getting into trouble, I sometimes swallow the keys to the invisible car. The only way to stop him from leaving Earth in the ship was to secretly swallow the hypochemistric valubatron. If only I'd done it sooner; maybe Megamind would still be..."

"Don't say that, Minion. We can't think that way right now, not when we still have a chance of finished what he started. Listen carefully, because I...I think I've got a plan. If we could free the remaining brain-bots from Vexus' control, would they listen to you?"

"Well, yeah, I did help designed them, after all," Minion said as though the fact were obvious—something she should already know, which she didn't. She let it slide for now.

"Good. Because if Vexus is even remotely like the old Megamind I know, he probably has the mind-control remote do-hicky thing with him at all times. As long as we have this," she said, holding up the glowing pacifier. "We've got something he needs. We're going to set a trap, and _this_ is the bait."

"Miss Ritchi, I'm starting to think you're turning into quite the cunning villainess if I do say so myself."

"If I am," Roxanne put plainly and clenched her fists angrily as her thoughts turned towards the events that led to Megamind's sacrifice, "It's only because I fell in love with the smartest, bravest supervillain who ever lived. Let's go, Minion. We have a city to save."

* * *

It was funny how the feeling of flying and falling felt the same, even when standing on top of a collapsing building awaiting your impending doom.

Megamind let everything go, every wish, every dream he had as he watched Roxanne disappear into the gleaming, blinding light of the midday sun...safe. He was completely prepared to meet his fate as Metrocity's last true standing hero. Or, at the very least a devious turncoat supervillian destined to be remembered in the history books for centuries to come. Either way, it had become apparent that his days as a living breathing, celebrity had come to an end. No matter the fact that tomorrow the newspapers would reveal his alien heritage and the soon-to-be nigh destruction of humanity at the fingertips of his former family would begin.

In any case, back to his freefalling experience. Rather than let himself suffer a slow, painful death crushed under the weight of concrete walls and burning debris, he'd chosen a less dreary sort of end. Half-blinded by the dust rising around him as the lower levels of the tower collapsed, Megamind dashed to the edge of the roof, spread his arms, and jumped.

Watching the flames and the dust clouds approach, he prepared his last thought to be of his greatest achievement of all time. Megamind winced, turning his head to the side as the street-level clouds engulfed him, expecting impact at any moment.

Only to have something slam into him on his right side at a velocity that knocked the air out of his lungs. Then came the feeling of flying, just like falling in a way, but _along_ the ground rather than into it at a bone-shattering speed Unfortunately, whoever was holding on to him clearly hadn't been doing this whole "flying" thing for very long. The next thing he knew, Megamind hit the ground at a very obtuse angle, was ripped away from his rescuer and went tumbling several yards into the front tire of a parked car.

After that, things were blurry and painful for a moment. A cracked rib, maybe. A sore head, skinned knees and elbows—child's wounds compared to the reality he'd readied himself for just moments ago in his glorious plummet into the pages of history. His tattered cape was draped over his head; groaning, Megamind pulled it back and teetered to one side in a failed attempt to stand up. "Ugh," he grunted, holding his massive blue head in one hand.

His eyes quickly acclimated to the scene at street level; he was a block or two north of the collapsed tower, coughing in the wake of the heavy blanket of smoke and dust. Through the brownish veil, he also saw someone stand up across the abandoned street and thankfully he didn't squawk when he recognized who it was. Especially in that _horrible _superhero outfit.

"Mayor...Carson?" he coughed, his voice an airy wisp of its former self. He knitted his brow together suspiciously. "Of all people, _you_ save _me_, the one you swore would be your archnemesis. How...peculiar. " This time his did squeak a little, but come _on_, he had just been struck by the equivalent of a freight truck.

Carson (or 'Gladius', whatever that trivial title implied about his compensation problems) slowly strode towards him at a wary gait, unsurprisingly unscathed and without a curled, dark hair out of place. "You and I will _always_ be enemies," he said with just a touch of venom, but his usual uptight tone of voice, the confident posture and turned up nose were gone. He seemed strangely, vacantly victorious. "You're not a hero. You can't protect this city. I still don't believe you want to be Metro City's hero, but if there is one thing I've learned today, it's...humility."

Slowly, Megamind's trim eyebrow arced upwards as he listened to the former politician's lament.

The newfound superhero extended a hand towards him, and helped the blue-skinned newfound (or rather, renewed) supervillain to his feet. Megamind only winced a little. "I fooled myself into believing in justice at all costs. Victory over evil, triumph over criminals and imposters pretending to be heroes...but in the end, I found myself standing in front of a school, torn down in ruins by a madman _I_ allowed to wreck havoc on my city. If those children hadn't made it out of that building in time, I..." Carson paused, putting a hand over his face for a moment. Then he lowered it again. "I've done a terrible thing, and in order to set things straight again, I'm going to need your help. Just this once, this one and final time, I need you to help me win back the city."

It was difficult to hold back the urge to unleash a torrent of gloating in the mayor's face, but Megamind couldn't resist at least a small scoff. "Well, as much as I appreciate the rescue—very good timing on that, by the way, very brave, climactic and coincidentally painful at the same time—I cannot help but wonder _why_, oh why would a self-serving 'eeeevil' supervillain such as myself want to win back the city? After all, _you're_ the hero now; you'll get all the credit. I have nothing to gain here."

"Because," said the former mayor, staring at him long and sternly. "You may not be suited to be a hero, but I was wrong when I said you're not capable of caring. You do care about Roxanne. You love so much that you'd trade your life for hers, and that fact alone proves you have a reason to fight the greater evil. If not for Metro City, then for her future and her happiness. She'll stand by you no matter what you choose. So the real question now, Megamind, is if you're ready to stand by me."

The ex-hero, questionably evil turned-bad-guy-again sighed and lowered his head for a moment, before lifting it again to look at him. "All right," he conceded finally, and grimaced a little as he grabbed his ribs. "What exactly do you need from me that you can't get on your own?"

Carson slowly cracked his knuckles, smirking for the first time with a confident expression that would likely become his trademark, given time. "Presentation," he said.

* * *

TBC


End file.
